Faking It
by Ilovecats
Summary: McStizzie. Mark asks Izzie to help him repair his friendship with Derek by pretending to be his girlfriend. But what happens when they stop pretending? Slight MerDer. On Hiatus
1. Every Good Story Begins in a Bar

Disclaimer: For legal purposes lets assume that I don't own anything.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Isobel Stevens traced her fingers along the rim of the glass before she downed the liquor in one gulp. It burned her throat as the amber liquid made its way into her body. She set the glass down, determined not to make the same mistake she had made two months ago. Izzie placed her hand on her forehead as the memory came rushing back to her. She had gotten drunk and had sex with her best friend, her married best friend. Shortly after their drunken night together, she had confessed her undying love for George. She practically begged him to dump his wife and start a relationship with her. She waited three weeks for George to come to her and tell her that he loved her too. She spent three weeks worried that their drunken night together meant more to her than it did to him. When he arrived at her door and told her that he loved her too, she was so happy. They spent the next day discussing the best way to go about getting together without hurting Callie. George told her that he would wait until the right moment to tell Callie the truth. That was five weeks ago and apparently George had yet to find the appropriate time to tell his wife that he had an affair and was leaving her for another woman.

A loud noise brought Izzie out of her reverie. Mark Sloan was at the other end of the bar, hitting on a woman who obviously did not want to be bothered. The woman had thrown her drink in his face and slapped him before she returned to a table with her friends. Izzie laughed.

Mark walked over to her and sat down on the empty stool next to her. "You think that was funny?"

Izzie twirled the empty glass in her hands. "I bet it's not everyday that McSteamy gets rejected. I'm just happy that I got to witness that."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Hey Joe, can I get another drink over here. And give Stevens another of whatever she's drinking."

Izzie shook her head. She did not want to have to deal with Dr. Sloan's advancements tonight. It was enough that she had to deal with them at the hospital earlier in the day. "I'm not going to sleep with you."

Mark Sloan cocked an eyebrow. He turned his body in the chair so that he was facing her. "And what makes you think that I would want to sleep with you?"

Izzie rolled her eyes. "You so want to have sex with me. With all the comments you make in the OR about my appearance and rubbing against you, I doubt it's because you want me to bake you a cake." She picked up the drink that Joe set in front of her. "Besides, you're Mark Sloan. You want to have sex with everybody."

"Cake? Why Stevens, I never knew you could make cooking sound so dirty."

"You're an ass."

"And you're hot." He leaned forward and stroked Izzie's cheek.

She pushed him away from her. "You are beyond wasted." Izzie turned to the man standing behind the bar, an amused expression on his face. "Joe, how much did he have to drink?"

"I'm drinking for two," Mark interjected. He stood up too quickly and immediately fell backwards into the bar.

Izzie shook her head. She was definitely not in the mood for this. First she had to deal with him hitting on her and now she had to deal with him being too drunk to take care of himself. She examined him to make sure he didn't hurt himself when he fell. "You sure know how to impress a girl," she remarked as she helped him stand up.

He wobbled for a few moments, nearly crashing back to the ground with Izzie in his arms. "I'm fine." He took a few steps forward.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"I don't think so," she said as she reached into his coat pocket for his keys. "There is no way I'm going to let you drive home in the state that you're in." It was at times like this that she wished she could be more like Alex or Christina. She hated that she felt the need to help everybody, especially when that some one was a drunk man whore.

"I'm fine. I can drive."

"You are not fine. You can barely stand up."

"I am too fine," he protested. "See." Mark stood with his arms spread out and proceeded to try and touch his nose with the tip of his finger.

She smirked as his finger missed his nose and landed on his cheek instead. "As fine as you obviously are, I am going to have to insist that I drive you home." She grabbed his arm and directed him toward her car.

"Where do you live?" she questioned once the two of them were in the car. When he didn't respond she turned to see that Mark was passed out. "Damn it," she muttered. She banged her hand against the steering wheel. This was not good. She poked him in the ribs. "SLOAN!"

He opened his eyes and looked intently at her. "What?"

"Where do you live?"

"The Archfield," he mumbled as he settled himself back into the seat and closed his eyes.

"Which room?" She poked him in the ribs again when he didn't answer her question.

He mumbled something incoherent and turned his body to face the window.

"Great." What was she supposed to do now? She could drive to the hotel, drop him off and hope that someone managed to get him to the appropriate room. She could call somebody and ask if they knew which room Mark Sloan occupied at the Archfield, but then there would be questions about why she wanted to know. She could pass him off to another woman but he would enjoy that too much. She sighed as she started the car. Izzie knew what she had to do. She would take him back to Meredith's and pray that her roommates were asleep.

She pulled up into the driveway. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized that the lights were off inside. She quickly got out of the car and opened the passenger side door to help Mark out. She grabbed his arm and put it over her body to support him. "Dr. Sloan, you're going to have to help me."

He got out of the car and leaned on Izzie's tall frame. "Where are we? This isn't where I live."

Izzie groaned as his body started to weigh heavily on her. He smelled like whisky and she could feel his hands roaming down her back. "No, it's not." She tapped him in the stomach when his hands reached too far down her back. "I didn't want to drop you off in front of a hotel." She gave him an awkward smile and headed toward the house.

He leaned on the door as Izzie unlocked the front door. "Stevens, I always knew that you wanted me."

"Shut up." She pushed him through the door and led him toward the couch. He sat down and turned to look at her. She stood up. "You should get some sleep. You have to work tomorrow."

Mark placed his hand on his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Third one on the left," she pointed as he ran upstairs.

She went upstairs and entered her own room. Izzie quickly changed into cotton pants and a tank top while Mark was in the bathroom. She sat down on the bed. This day could not get any worse. She had to deal with watching George and Callie work on a case at the hospital all day and when she had gotten George by himself he simply told her that he would tell his wife he was leaving her tomorrow. Tomorrow. It was always tomorrow. All she wanted to do was get a drink, go home, and take a nice relaxing bath. Instead she had to take care of a man that she despised.

"So, are we going to do this or what?" he asked as he sat down next to her. He leaned into her and tried to kiss her lips.

She jumped up off of the bed as she pushed him away from her. "I will not be having sex with you tonight. Or any other night for that matter. Not ever." She tore through her closet looking for extra sheets. "You will be sleeping on the couch and I will be sleeping in my bed. Alone." The words echoed in her brain. "Without you," she amended. She turned once she found the sheets. "I'll be sleeping on the couch," she said when she saw that Mark had fallen asleep on her bed.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie groaned as she got off the couch the next morning. She really wished that she had kicked Sloan out of her bed the night before. The sofa was not comfortable at all to sleep on. She stretched her aching muscles and headed to the kitchen to make coffee.

Izzie poured the steaming hot liquid into her cup when she heard the familiar sound of her roommates waking up. Her eyes looked up when she heard someone enter the room.

"What time did you get home last night?" Meredith Grey asked as she reached into the cabinet to get a coffee mug for herself and Derek.

"Late," she responded as she lowered her eyes back to the newspaper.

"Who did you bring home last night?" Alex Karev questioned as he entered the kitchen.

Izzie smirked. She debated whether or not she should tell them about her encounter with Dr. Sloan last night. She decided that she was not in the mood to answer any of their inane questions. "Nobody."

"Then who is in your room? I heard noise coming from your room and you're here." Alex went to the refrigerator and got milk for his coffee.

"Where the hell am I?" Mark's voice called from the other room. Everyone in the room gasped as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the counter. "I need coffee."

She picked up her coffee mug and took a sip. "Could one of you give Dr. Sloan a ride to work today? He left his car at Emerald City Bar last night." She stood up and headed up stairs to get ready for work leaving her stunned roommates to deal with Mark.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie walked down the corridors of the hospital with her interns following close behind her. She had somehow managed to avoid both Alex and Meredith during her rounds that morning. Somebody grabbed her arm and pulled her away from her interns. She groaned when she realized Mark Sloan's blue eyes were staring at her. "Did you need something Dr. Sloan?"

"Can I talk to you in private?" he asked as he pulled her into an empty room.

"No." Izzie turned to leave.

"Would you go out with me?" he blurted out.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Reviews are always greatly appreciated. Even if you hate it, tell me. But I hope you love it.


	2. The Rules of the Game

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark Sloan looked expectantly at the woman in front of him. Her brown eyes were conveying the obvious shock of his question. "Well? Will you go out with me or not?"

He didn't expect Izzie Stevens to jump at the chance to go out on a date with him but he didn't expect this either. She was laughing at him. And not just a slight chuckle but a throw your hair back, hearty laugh. "Are you done laughing yet?"

"Seriously? What did you really drag me in here for?"

He cursed to himself. This was not going the way he had planned it. He had woken up that morning in a strange bed. Alone. He wasn't alone for long though. As soon as he had gone downstairs he was bombarded with stares, questions, and accusations. Stares from Meredith. Questions from Alex. Accusations from Derek. It had been those accusations from Derek that had him standing in front of the laughing blonde resident. "I was being serious. Will you go out with me?"

She looked at him for a few seconds before she responded. "No."

Mark Sloan was not the type of man to ask women out on dates. He was the type of man that women begged to take them out. He didn't like to beg, but he needed her help. "I need a favor."

She raised her hand to slap him. He grabbed her hand before it connected to his cheek. "Not that kind of a favor."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you still drunk? You pull me into this room, ask for a date and then say all you want is a favor."

He didn't know how to respond to that. He simply shrugged his shoulders. "I'll let you scrub in any of my surgeries that you want."

"Not interested."

"What about your interns? Or your friends? It would be a shame if they weren't able to scrub in any of my surgeries. Karev was asking about scrubbing in on a procedure this morning during a very interesting breakfast. I'm not sure I could use his help anymore."

"What the hell do you want? Is this really about a date? Because if you are trying to get me to sleep with you by resulting to bribery or blackmail, I will go to the chief right now."

Mark grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving. "It's about Derek."

"What about him?" she asked, pushing him away from her.

Mark took a deep breath. "I want him back." He sat down on the hospital bed.

She opened her mouth to say something but shook her head instead.

"Let me explain," he said when he saw the confused expression on her face. "This morning when I walked into your kitchen, he said more to me than he has since Addison left."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Last night. When you found me at the bar last night, I was supposed to be meeting Derek there. But he never showed up."

"Ah," she said. "And that's why you were more drunk than usual."

He nodded his head. "He thought I took advantage of you last night. He said that was why he couldn't be my friend anymore. I would never change."

"You did take advantage of me last night."

"What?" Mark was sure that the two of them didn't do anything the night before. He thought he would be able to remember having sex, especially with someone as hot as Izzie Stevens.

"You were like one of those stupid, pathetic puppy dogs. You know, the ones that nobody wants to adopt. I couldn't help myself; I felt the need to take care of you." She shrugged her shoulders. "You made me sleep on the couch while you took my bed."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Next time I'll know better. Did you want me to talk to Derek or something? Tell him that we didn't sleep together last night?"

"I want you to be my girlfriend."

Izzie let out a vigorous laugh. "You're joking right. We're back to this. Seriously? I will not go out with you, end of discussion."

"Look, Derek is my best friend; my only friend really. I just figured that if he saw me dating a woman, he would see that I have changed and we could go back to the way things were."

"And I'm so honored that you thought of me," she replied, the sarcasm clearly evident in her voice. "Why don't you go find one of your bimbos? Or better yet, I'm sure one of the nurses would be more than grateful to play the happy girlfriend. Now if you'll excuse me, I have interns."

"You're the only one who can do this for me." He wished that that wasn't true, but she lived with Meredith. "You're Meredith's friend. Meredith is Derek's girlfriend."

"Oh, okay. I get it. You figure that since Meredith and I spend so much time together that by associating with me you will associate with Derek."

He placed his finger on her nose. "Now you're catching on Stevens."

She smacked his hand away from her face. "The answer is still no."

"What if it was one of your friends?" He was desperate. "What if you had done something to hurt one of your friends like I have? Wouldn't you do anything to fix it? Even if it as crazy as asking someone who can't even stand being in the same room as you for help? That's all I want."

She looked at him for a second. "I…" She combed her fingers through her flaxen hair. "Yes. I would do anything to make things better."

"So does that mean that you'll do it? You'll pretend to be my girlfriend?"

Izzie shook her head. "I can't believe that I'm agreeing to this."

Mark scooped her into his arms and hugged her tight. "Great. There's th…"

"No," she said as she pushed him away and put her finger in his face. "If we are going to do this, there must be rules."

He smiled. "Of course, Stevens." He should have known that she would set boundaries with this relationship.

"First," she said as she held her finger up to indicate rule one. "You and I will not have sex. That is not part of this deal."

"But…," he started to protest. What was the point if they couldn't have some fun in the process of pretending to have a relationship?

She placed her index finger on his chest. "No buts. There will be no sex, period. You got that? Because if you think for one minute that this is just a way to get me into your bed, you can just forget this little arrangement of ours."

"Okay," he grumbled as he pushed her finger away from his body. "You and I will not have the pleasure of getting to know each other horizontally on your bed."

She glared at him. "And you will not have sex with anybody else either."

"Hey!" he protested. "You have no right to say who I can have sex with." Izzie Stevens was trying to kill him. That had to be it. She wanted him slam his head in the wall and kill himself.

"This whole pseudo-relationship was your idea. And I don't want the hospital gossip to be about poor Izzie Steven and her lying, cheating boyfriend. I would end whatever this is."

Mark shook his head. He had already tried that no sex pact with Addison. He spent too many nights alone and he didn't want to go through that again. "What if the woman didn't work here? What if I could guarantee that nobody would find out about it?"

Izzie's brown eyes looked up at him. He took a step back when he saw the anger clearly displayed within them. "You are unbelievable you know that? Of course you do." She threw her hands up in disgust. "Fine! If you can find someone that nobody will find out about, knock yourself out. But I swear if I hear so much as a rumor about you and some other woman, I reserve the right to publically kick your ass."

Mark put his hands up in surrender. "I'll be extra careful. But you can't have sex with anybody else either."

She nodded her head in agreement.

"Anything else?"

"Rule two. There will be no kissing or any of that other affectionate stuff."

"Aw, come on Stevens. We're supposed to be in a relationship. Nobody's going to believe that if we don't even touch each other."

Izzie put her finger in his face again. "If you would have let me finish what I was saying, you would have known that I meant none of that affectionate crap in private. I will let you kiss me when other people are around, but nothing over the top."

Mark rolled his eyes. He knew Izzie wasn't going to make this easy for him but he didn't think she would make it this difficult. He didn't even know what 'over the top' was.

"And that means no real dates either." She put her finger up to stop him from speaking. "We can still spend time together at Meredith's whenever Derek is going to be there. We can pretend to come back from dates. However, there will be no romantic candlelit dinners, movies, or anything else that's just the two of us. "

"That's fine with me. I don't think I could handle being alone with you anyway. You'd probably try to castrate me."

"Number three." She stared intently into his eyes. "And this one is important. You will not tell me that you love me. I will not tell you that I love you. I don't say it unless I mean it and I don't want to hear it."

Mark shook his head in agreement. "For once I agree with one of your stupid rules. I have only told one woman that I loved her and I intend to keep it that way."

"That's it." She started to leave.

"Rule four," he said as her hand started to turn the knob.

"There is no rule four."

"If you get to give me rules, it's only fair that I make up some of my own."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She sat down on the empty hospital bed.

"Rule four," he began again. "Nobody finds out about this."

She stood up. "Who would I tell?"

He placed his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes looked up to meet his own. "Let me make this clear for you. The only ones who will know that this relationship isn't real are you and me. When Derek and I are friends again, we will have a nice little break-up; a mutual realization that our relationship wasn't going anywhere." He released her from his grasp.

"Okay," her voice barely above a whisper. "Nobody else will know."

"And finally rule number five." He stared at her. "And this is the most important," he said mocking her previous actions. "You will not fall in love with me."

She laughed at him, again. God, he hated her laugh right now. "You're kidding right? Me fall in love with you?"

"I'm serious Stevens."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "You don't have to worry about me falling in love with you. I don't even like you." She shook her head. "I should be the one warning you not to fall in love with me. I'm the one who's a catch."

This time Mark laughed. This woman was certifiable. There was no way he was going to fall in love with somebody as annoying as Izzie Stevens. "A catch, huh? I think I'll be able to throw this one back."

"Are we done here? I have to make sure my interns didn't kill anybody in my absence."

He nodded and watched as she left. He shook his head trying to quiet the voice in his head that kept saying that this whole thing was only going to end in disaster for the both of them.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

There we have it. The crux of my story. Any Thoughts? Thanks to those of you that have read and especially to those of you that reviewed. Reviews make me write faster.


	3. You Must be Sleeping with Him

Disclaimer: For legal purposes, let's assume that I don't own anything.

Special thanks to LW107, ergirl21, and bxbforever991 for telling me that I loaded the wrong chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter up correctly and on time.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

When the two of them stepped into the hospital fundraiser she felt everybody's eyes on her. She shifted uncomfortably in the dress that Mark had chosen for her. It hugged her body in all the right places, accentuating her feminine curves. She knew that as soon as she had walked into convention center with Mark Sloan's arm around her waist, there would be gossip. She knew that people would assume that the two of them were sleeping together.

"You look beautiful," he whispered into her ear.

She gave him a terse smile. "Let's get this over with."

They spent the next two hours dancing and talking to various investors. Mark used his charm to convince wealthy businessmen to donate more money to the hospital than they already had. He also used his charm to try to get her to find an empty room and get to know him better. Every time that he would do that, she would simply say "rule one".

"Why did you agree to do this?" he asked halfway through dinner.

She finished swallowing her food before she spoke. "Why do you care?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he shoved another forkful of rice in his mouth. "Just curious."

Sighing, she placed her fork on the table. "Because I know what it's like to screw up a friendship."

"I don't believe you. You don't seem like the kind of person that people can stay mad at forever."

But that's exactly why she had agreed. She had done the same thing. She had slept with her best friend, forever severing their friendship. This was her way of fixing it. If she could somehow help Mark repair his relationship with Derek, it would erase the things she had done that had fractured her closeness with George. "Whatever." She wished that she could believe that. It sounded nobler than the real reason she was doing this. She was tired of waiting for George to tell his wife about their affair. She hoped that when he found out that she showed up at the hospital fundraiser with Mark Sloan, he would immediately go to Callie and tell her that he was leaving her.

She pushed the plate out of her way. "Maybe, I'm just bored." She stood up from the table. "If you'll excuse me," she said as she headed to the bathroom.

Smoothing out invisible wrinkles on her dress, Izzie stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. The reflection staring back at her was unfamiliar to her. The woman had the same deep brown eyes and glossy blonde hair as her, but something was very different about her. She unconsciously lifted her arm and touched her face to make sure that it was indeed her in the mirror. She wondered where the happy intern that walked into Seattle Grace Hospital over a year ago had gone. The door opened and Izzie's pained eyes were met by green concerned ones.

"Why are you doing this?" Meredith's voice broke through her thoughts. "Why are you here with Sloan?"

Izzie turned to face her. "Because he asked me."

Meredith stared at her for a few seconds. "Since when did you do things for him when he asked you to?"

"He asked nicely."

"Izzie, what is going on with you? Did you sleep with him that night?"

"Since when did you care?" she snapped. "You've been too busy with Derek and Christina to even notice." Izzie laughed at the irony of her statement. Mark had asked her to help him repair a broken friendship with Derek. Now Meredith was standing in front of her trying to fix a connection she didn't even know was damaged. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Meredith sat on one of the large sofas located in the room. She motioned for Izzie to take the seat next to her. "What is going on with you?"

"I didn't sleep with him." Izzie stood up and started to pace. She wasn't sure what to say. Her mind wandered to that night with George. That's when all her problems began. "How can one night change your life so drastically?"

"Iz, I…" Meredith rubbed her chin with her fingers. "Sometimes that's all it takes."

Izzie focused her gaze on Meredith. She looked lost. Izzie knew that Meredith was struggling to change her outlook on life and love since she and Derek had decided to give their relationship another try. She had lost count at the number of times the two of them had broken up only to reconcile later. Somehow, through all of that, they still managed to find their way back to each other. "Why can't anybody love me like that?"

"Like what?"

Izzie looked at her. "Umm…" She hadn't realized that she had said that out loud. "Like if he were with anybody else, he would be settling."

"Mark's incapable of loving you like that."

"I don't want him to." She wiped her eyes, desperate to remove the tears before they formed. "I love him. I told him that I love him. He told me that he loved me too. But he still won't be with me. He…" Izzie stopped herself before she said anything that would reveal that she had slept with George.

Meredith narrowed her eyes. "We're not talking about Sloan anymore, are we? Who do you love?"

"Nobody. I'm just wondering if I'll be alone forever. After Denny died, I didn't want to live. Now…" She shrugged her shoulders. "I just want somebody to love me."

Meredith wrapped her arms around Izzie and pulled her into a tight embrace. "You'll find him," she whispered. "Just not in Mark Sloan."

"I've got to go,' she said, pushing Meredith away. "I'll talk to you later." Walking back into the fundraiser, she spotted Mark talking to a man in a very expensive-looking suit.

"He's not worth it," a voice stopped her before she went to tell Mark that she was ready to leave.

"He misses you," she replied. She turned to look directly at him. "He misses the friendship that you guys used to share."

Derek combed his fingers through his already disheveled hair. "He'll only end up hurting you in the end."

Shaking her head, she left when Meredith placed her hand on Derek's shoulder. She was not in the mood to be scrutinized by the two of them anymore. "Can you take me home?" she asked when she found Mark at the bar.

Placing his arm around her shoulders, he led her to the parking lot. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said as she climbed in the passenger seat of his car.

The car ride back to Meredith's house was sat in silence. Agonizingly, awkward silence. She wasn't sure what to say to him and he seemed too preoccupied with driving to say anything to her. Izzie opened the door as soon as Mark had parked his Aston Martin in Meredith's driveway. Fishing her keys from her purse, she walked quickly to the front door. She didn't realize that he had followed her until he placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to jump.

"That went well."

Izzie unlocked the door. "If you would have spent more time actually trying to talk to Dr. Shepherd than groping me, I would believe you. You are hopeless." She opened the door and slammed it in his face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he questioned as he entered the room behind her.

She turned around to face him. "What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!"

Taking three large steps, he stopped a few inches in front of her face. "Not until you tell me what you meant."

She took a step backward causing her back to become pressed up against the wall. "Umm…" His blue eyes shined with an intensity she had never seen before. A mixture of anger and lust, she thought.

He closed the gap between the two of them. He placed his hands on the wall on either side of her body, effectively trapping her. Licking his lips, he lowered his head, stopping just short of her mouth.

It was at times like this that she wished she was shorter. It would have been easier to duck under his muscular body and away from his intense gaze. She turned her cheek when he tried to kiss her. She pushed him away from her. "That's exactly what I meant," she screamed as she walked backwards away from him. "You were more interested in trying to get into my pants than fixing your relationship with your supposed best friend."

"You think it's that easy?" he spat back at her. "That all I have to do is sit down next to him and poof,"… he snapped his fingers… "we're friends."

"I expect you to at least try. I talked to Dr. Shepherd tonight more than you did."

She shook her head when he didn't respond. "You know what, this was a bad idea. Let's just forget that I even agreed to this idiotic plan of yours to begin with."

He combed his fingers through his hair. "I don't know what to do. I just want things to go back to the way they used to be. Before Addison."

"I can't help you with that." Of this, she was certain. Sex changes everything and nothing you say or do can take it back. You could only try to make it up to the person and hope that in time, they could forgive you.

"But I can't do this without your help."

Walking up the stairs, she turned around to face him. "Until you figure out how I can do that for you, leave me alone." Stopping at the top of the stairs, she spoke without looking at him. "And don't forget to lock the door on your way out."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Poring over patient's files, Izzie stretched her wary arms. She stopped at the patient that had been giving her the most problems. Kenneth Brooks had been in and out of the hospital for the last two years displaying varying difficulties with his kidneys and liver. He was readmitted recently when he started to have problems breathing.

"Is there something that I can help you with?"

Izzie looked up from the file to see Alex standing in front of her. "Yes, can you take a look at this?" She was hoping that a fresh pair of eyes would see something that would help Mr. Brooks.

He scanned the patient's file for a few minutes. "Iz, there's nothing that can be done. The tests clearly indicate that the infection has spread to his lungs. Surgery would be too risky at this point."

She snatched the file from Alex's hands. "I know. I just…"

"You can't save everybody," he interrupted.

"What is this really about?" She knew that Meredith had said something this morning about her emotional outburst at the fundraiser.

"I'm worried about you. What are you doing with Sloan?"

Flicking her hand in the air, she said, "nothing."

"I mean if it's about sex you can always come to me."

"Did you just offer to have sex with me?" Shaking her head, she picked up another patient's file. "Seriously?"

He placed one hand on the file and lifted her chin with the other. "If all you are looking for is physical contact. If all you want is a warm body in your bed, I can help you."

She started to stand up but was stopped when Alex placed his hands on her shoulders. Bending down to meet her eyes, he spoke. "Don't misunderstand me Izzie. I'm not asking you to sleep with me, but if you were to sleep with someone to help you feel something, it should be with someone that knows you."

She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "I'm not sleeping with Dr. Sloan. I have no intention to sleep with him. That's a bet you can safely make."

He chewed his bottom lip. "I know that Meredith has been helping Christina deal with everything after Burke left." He stood up. "And I'm not even going to pretend to understand what's going on between you and George."

Tensing when Alex mentioned George's name, Izzie stood up. "I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing is going on between me and George." She shook her head, hoping that he didn't figure out her secret. George would never forgive her if someone found out before he had a chance to tell Callie.

"I think that's it," he said. "You guys seem to be avoiding each other. I really don't care why."

Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on his. "I'm fine."

"You're always fine." He scratched his chin while he thought of something to say. "Look, that wasn't my point. You can always talk to me, about anything. I promise that I won't judge you or get angry with you." He put his hand on her cheek. "I care about you Izzie. My door is right next to yours and it's always open if you ever need to talk."

She nodded. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek. "When did you become the decent guy?"

He grinned. "My door is also open should you ever decide to take me up on my earlier offer."

Smiling, she swatted his chest. "Now, there's the Alex I know."

Grabbing his pager as it started to beep, he looked at it. "I gotta go. Remember what I said." He gave her arm a light squeeze and kissed her cheek before turning around and leaving her to digest what he had just told her.

Izzie wasn't sure how much time had passed when another familiar face walked up to her.

"We need to talk," he said.

She looked up from the tenth file she had looked at that day. "George…"

She was cut off when he grabbed her arm and dragged her to an empty supply closet. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm standing in a supply closet with you," she responded. "What are you doing?"

He started pacing the small enclosure. "Do you still want to be with me?" he said once he had stopped walking in circles.

Izzie was blindsided by his question. Did he decide that he wanted to stay with Callie after all? Did he suddenly realize that he didn't love her the way she wanted him to? Did she do something to make him think that she didn't want a relationship with him anymore? Her eyes widened as the thought entered her mind. "Sloan." This was not the way he was supposed to react. He was supposed to tell her that he had dumped Callie and that they could finally be together.

"So it's true. You did go out with him last night."

"No."

"Then why did Meredith tell me that she saw you at the hospital fundraiser with Dr. Sloan? Was she mistaken?"

She shook her head. She had to make him understand. She didn't want him to think that she had betrayed him with another man. She opened her mouth to tell George the truth but stopped herself when she remembered the promise she had made to Mark. "He needed a date."

"And you decided that you would be more than happy to oblige. I'm sure that he could have found somebody else to accompany him to the party. So that begs the question, why you?"

She bit her lip. She had hoped that her simple answer would have satisfied his curiosity. "I," she began as she tried to think of a plausible explanation. She didn't want him to know that she had done it to nudge him in her direction. She was tired of waiting for the right time for him to tell Callie the truth. "Do you trust me?"

Her question must have thrown him off guard because it took him a few seconds to say anything. "Of course I trust you."

She let out a breath she didn't even realize that she had been holding. "Good." She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Nothing is going on between me and Dr. Sloan. He needed my help with something and I agreed."

"So you had sex with him?!" He started pacing again.

"NO! Why does everyone think that I'm having sex with Sloan?" She combed her fingers through her hair. She grabbed George's arm to stop his pacing. It was making her nervous. "Look at me."

His blue eyes met her own. She could see the fear clearly displayed within them. "Do you still love me?" his voice came out as a whisper.

Taking his face with her hands, she leaned in for a kiss. "More than anything." She kissed him again. "I promise you that what's going on between me and Sloan has no affect on our relationship." She kissed him again, softer this time. "I'm helping him become a better person."

"How?"

"By teaching him how to be friend."

He nodded his head. "Okay."

Smiling, she pulled him into a tight embrace. "I assure you that by the time you tell Callie that you're leaving her, my arrangement with Sloan will be over. She felt him stiffen in her arms. "All you have to do is trust me," she whispered into his ear.

Nodding his head, he opened the door. "Okay," he said as he shut the door leaving her alone.

A few minutes after George left, Izzie stepped out into the hallway. Izzie walked faster when she saw Christina coming toward her. Izzie almost made it to the nurse's station when Christina grabbed her arm to stop her. "What are you doing?"

Izzie turned around to look at her. Taking a beep breath she spoke, "yes, I went out with Sloan last night. No, I did not have sex with him. Yes I'm fine."

"As fascinating as your love life might be, I really don't care. Do you know where Meredith is? I really need to talk to her."

"Umm," Izzie struggled to find words as she tried to recover from her embarrassing ramblings. "I think she's in the clinic."

"Thanks." She headed toward the clinic. Turning around and walking backward she shouted, "Oh, and get a grip Barbie."

She picked up several files from the nurses and sat down at a nearby table. Slamming her head on the desk, she let out a silent scream. She massaged her temples when she felt the beginnings of a headache starting to form. All she wanted to do was go home, take a hot bath, crawl in to bed and pretend that this day never happened. She was tired of dealing with her friends' questions. She was tired.

"I have an idea," a masculine voice said above her.

Izzie groaned when she heard him. He was the last person she wanted to deal with at that moment. "Go away."

"I know that you said that you weren't sure that you wanted to date me…"

"No, I'm sure that I don't want to date you," she interrupted. "I'm not sure I want to pretend to date you."

"…but I think that I know a way to make Derek talk to me. And, it won't take forever."

Lifting her head off the desk, she looked up at him expectantly. This had to be good. Maybe he wanted her to sleep with him and have one of her friends slam his head in to a wall. Maybe she could slam his head in to the wall. Then Derek would be forced to spend time with Mark. He would have to perform some sort of brain surgery to fix the damage she desperately wanted to inflict upon him. She blinked when he started waving his hand in front of her face.

"Earth to Stevens. Did you hear a word I said to you?"

"You have a plan." She smiled sheepishly.

"Double date," he said smiling. "You, me, Meredith and Derek. What do you think?"

That had to be the worst idea she had ever heard. A double date? Seriously? Who had double dates anymore? "I was under the impression that we weren't in high school anymore."

"That's just it," he said. "Derek and I used to go out on double dates in high school all the time. I figure if we were put in that situation again, it would help us reconnect."

She was about to tell him no when George and Callie entered her line of vision. They were talking and laughing about something that she couldn't quite hear. Callie caressed George's cheek and kissed him. George wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and led her toward the elevator.

"Are you okay?"

She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. "What?"

"You've been staring off in to space for ten minutes."

"Just a little distracted. My friends think I've lost my mind for even talking to you. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I have." She shrugged her shoulders. "What were you saying about a double date?"

"I need you to suggest to Meredith that we all go out together. If it comes from me, Derek would say no."

"Okay." She grabbed the files off the desk. "I'll do it."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Once again, thanks to those of you that read and an extra special thanks to those of you that took the time to review.

Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I was having trouble writing everybody's reactions to Izzie's date with Mark. I think it came out better than I originally intended so that is good. It's also a lot longer than I thought it would be. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review. I'll try to get another chapter up sooner than this one, but no promises,


	4. Double Dates are Never a Good Idea

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume I don't own anything.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Derek tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for the light to change. "We don't have to do this you know. We could all go to a movie and forget about this date."

Izzie laughed from the backseat. Derek had been against this double date from the beginning. It had taken some convincing to get both Derek and Meredith to agree to go out with her and Mark. She had told them that she would sleep with Sloan if they didn't come with her to the restaurant. Doctor Shepherd told her to just tell Mark that she wouldn't go out with him at all. She had considered it but she had agreed to this date and was going to stick with it, no matter how painful it was.

"No, I told Dr. Sloan that we would meet him at the restaurant."

"Why is that?" Meredith questioned from the seat next to Derek.

This was not the first time that they had had this conversation that night. Mark had called to tell her that his surgery ran later than he had anticipated and he would meet them at the restaurant. Derek and Meredith thought it was ridiculous that Mark expected them to drive Izzie to the restaurant. They felt it was his responsibility to pick her up for the date. Izzie convinced them it was better this way because it meant they would save gas by carpooling.

"He's running late."

They drove the rest of the way to the restaurant without discussing Mark. Meredith and Derek sat in the front, talking about a surgery they had performed earlier that week. Derek parked the car when they arrived at the restaurant that Mark had told them about.

Stepping out of the crisp Seattle air, the three of them entered the restaurant together. Mark was already there, sitting at the table he had reserved earlier in the week. The only problem was there was another woman sitting at the table with him. The woman ran her slender fingers through her long, silky tresses. She placed her hand on Mark's bicep as she laughed at something he said, her dark hair flying around her face.

Ignoring the obvious disgust of Meredith and Derek, Izzie walked to the table and sat down next to Mark. She placed her hand on his hand and kissed his cheek. "Hey sweetie, I hope you didn't have to wait long for us." She turned to the woman. "I hope that my boyfriend didn't bore you too much."

The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Boyfriend?" She stood up. "It was nice to meet you Dr. Sloan."

Mark grabbed Izzie's hand and squeezed it. "What the hell was that?" he hissed. "She was about to give me her phone number."

She pulled her hand away from his. "Rule one."

"I'm not having sex with you."

She leaned over his shoulder. "Derek and Meredith are here," she whispered into his ear. "I didn't want to have to kick your ass so soon."

Mark stood up and took Derek's hand. "I'm glad that you guys could make it."

"I'm glad that you could find time in your busy schedule to accommodate us," Derek said as he took his seat at the table.

Izzie smiled at everyone. This was going to be a long night.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Meredith and Izzie were laughing about something. He wasn't quite sure what they were laughing about but he supposed it had something to do with a patient. Words like surgery and scalpel were being tossed around between the two friends. Derek ate his food quietly, occasionally offering his opinion about whatever topic was being discussed at the moment.

"How did William Anderson's surgery go?" Mark asked Derek.

"Good."

"No complications? I know you said that you were worried that the tumor was embedded too deep within his cerebral cortex."

"Nope."

Mark was tired of these one word responses he was getting from Derek. It was like talking to a brick wall. Or worse, a teenager. "How about them Yankees?"

Derek shrugged his shoulders as he continued to eat his meal. Mark opened his mouth to say something. He wanted to yell at him for being so cavalier about their friendship. He wanted to scream at him for throwing away nearly thirty years of friendship for a stupid mistake. But a sharp pain on his leg stopped him. He turned his head. Izzie was staring at him, her eyes telling him he needed to keep his mouth shut.

"What did you do that for?" He rubbed his calf to try and dull the pain her heel had caused. "It hurt."

She leaned into him again, her breasts rubbing against his arm. Her breath was hot against his neck, sending an immediate reaction through his body. "Be nice." She drew her hand across his cheek, resting it against his chin. She turned his head to face her. "Remind him about the fun you use to have in high school."

He cupped his hand behind her head and drew her closer. "How?" he whispered into her ear.

Izzie pulled away from him, her lips lightly brushing his cheek. She adjusted her chair and returned her attention to the other occupants at the table. "So, Dr. Sloan told me that you guys used to go out on double dates in high school. He was telling me about that one time…" she turned to look at him. "You know the one with that girl."

He smiled. He had to hand it to her; she definitely knew how to think on her feet. "Mindy."

"Yes. Why don't you tell Meredith? It was a funny story."

"Mindy Westermore was your typical blonde, blue eyed, bimbo, Manhattan socialite. She was way out of Derek's league."

"She was not out of my league."

"She was practically a supermodel."

"You were the one that wanted to date her best friend, Cindy Chesterton."

"No I didn't."

"Mindy and Cindy? Seriously?" Meredith said.

Derek nodded. "They were both wealthy and their families were highly respected in the inner circle. But the Westermore's didn't think I was worthy of dating their daughter."

"That's where I came in. My family was more respected in Manhattan. I asked the Westermore's and the Chesterton's if I could take their daughters out with my friend."

Derek laughed. "The only problem was Mindy thought she was Mark's date and Cindy was mine."

"What did you guys do?" Meredith asked.

"I told Mindy that she was the most extraordinary woman that I've ever met."

"She laughed in his face and tried to seduce me. In front of Cindy. The two girls started fighting."

"And Mark, being the great friend that he was, left them and we went to my house to watch the game."

Meredith started to laugh. "So you left two hot girls fighting over you to spend time with Derek. I don't buy it."

Derek's features darkened and his voice lowered. "He was a good friend back then. Things change, people change."

"I'm still your friend Derek."

"I know what you're trying to do. Just stop it."

Mark crinkled his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop using Izzie to get to me."

Mark's entire body tensed. He wiped his hairline, certain that sweat was dripping from his forehead. There was no way that Derek knew what was going on. He didn't tell him and he was sure that Izzie didn't say anything either.

"That's ridiculous," Izzie said. "He's not using me."

"Wake up, Izzie. Mark's a user."

"I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. He may be a jackass, but he's not a user." She stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She grabbed her purse off the table and left.

Mark turned back to Meredith and Derek. Meredith had her head in her hands, avoiding both Derek and Mark. Derek's mouth was upturned in an angry sneer, his entire body shaking. "Come on Meredith," Derek said. "Let's go."

Mark grabbed his jacket, threw a fifty on the table and left the restaurant. Izzie was sitting on a bench. She gripped the seat, her knuckles turning white. She whipped her head around when he sat down next to her, her hair catching the moonlight. It made her look like an angel, something he knew she was anything but. "Let me take you home," he said.

"I've already called a cab."

He pried her hand loose and forced her to stand up. "Thank you," he rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand. "For not telling Derek."

She laughed that same laugh he had come to hate; the one that told him that she was better than him. "I didn't do it for you. I didn't want to explain to my friends why I even agreed to this stupid plan to begin with."

Meredith and Derek exited the restaurant, his arm draped over her shoulder. They stopped in front of Derek's car. Derek turned, his eyes connecting with Mark's. He started coming toward them, a determined look in his eye.

Mark did the first thing that came to his mind. He pulled Izzie toward him, his lips crashing to hers. She tasted like the chocolate and cinnamon. Her hands went up to his chest, gently pushing him away from her. He resisted, placing his hand behind her head and drawing her mouth even closer to his own. She pushed again, more forcefully. He released his grasp off of her.

"What the hell was that?" she asked as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

He spun her around. Upon seeing the kiss, Derek had retreated back to his car and had started to leave. "I wasn't in the mood to be yelled at by Derek again."

"Next time warn me before you decide to kiss me. I almost slapped you."

"So, there'll be a next time?"

There was that same condescending laugh. "No more double dates."

He nodded his head. She was right; this was an ill-conceived plan. Derek was not ready to stroll down memory lane with him. "Then what do we do?"

"We have him come to you."

It sounded simple enough. He would spend enough time with Izzie that Derek would eventually have to go to him. "But how?"

"Drop by Meredith's house when I'm not there. Tell him that you want to wait for me. Force him to talk to you. Make up some story about how you screwed up on a date and needed a way to apologize. I don't know. You'll think of something."

He nodded his head. She was right. He had come up with this plan to begin with; he could come up with a way to prove to Derek that this friendship is worth saving. He knew exactly how to do it too. "Thanks, Stevens," he said. "Are you sure that I can't give you a ride home?"

She grabbed her purse off the bench. "Sure. But no more kisses tonight."

"Deal."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Woohoo! I finished the chapter. Sorry that it took so long. I had major writer's block. I think I finally got this story back on track. I know this chapter was basically filler, but the next one will be really juicy. I don't want to give too much away, but it changes everything... hehe I'm evil.

Anyway, thanks to those of you that have read and especially to those of you that took the time to review. And as always, Please Read and Review.


	5. Beautiful Disaster

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie flipped through the channels as she lied on the couch in Meredith's living room. She rarely had the house to herself anymore. Meredith was usually there complaining about her sister or Derek or both. Alex was usually there moping about surgeries or Rebecca or both. But not tonight. Tonight, they both had dates and she didn't expect them home for several hours.

Izzie set the remote control on the coffee table in front of her. She decided to watch whatever mindless dribble_ Lifetime_ had to offer. The channel advertised a movie about a couple struggling to make it work despite their friends reservations about the relationship. The announcer indicated that the movie would begin in ten minutes following the conclusion of an episode of _Will & Grace_

She got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. The bag of microwave popcorn exploded in the microwave as she searched through the refrigerator for something to drink. A bright red can caught her attention as it reflected the light from the tiny bulb in the refrigerator. Thinking that Alex wouldn't mind, she grabbed the coke and closed the refrigerator with the back of her foot. She took out a large bowl for the popcorn just as the microwave beeped off indicating that her snack was ready.

Placing the bowl of popcorn and coke next to her, she settled herself back on the couch. Just as she had gotten comfortable, the doorbell rang. Cursing under her breath, she got up to answer the door.

Mark stood there leaning against the frame of the door. The green shirt clung to his muscular body, his jacket snug against his broad shoulders. He brushed his fingers through his graying hair, a devilish smile plastered on his face. "Well," he said. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"What are you doing here?"

His grin became wider, his eyes crinkling. "Now is that any way to greet your boyfriend?" he said as he entered the house, closing the door behind him.

She folded her arms over her chest and walked into the living room. "You should have called. Derek's not here."

"I know. I overheard Yang and Grey discussing some special evening Derek had planned for them."

"And yet you're here. Why is that?"

"Remember what you told me after that horrific double date?"

"Vaguely," she said.

"I came up with a plan that I know will work."

"As well as your first two ideas?" she asked as a small smile crept across her face.

"Well," he said. "I was thinking that you and I would have sex on the couch. That way, when Derek and Meredith come home, he would be forced to deal with me."

She opened her mouth to say something but immediately closed it as visions of Mark's naked body hovering over her invaded her thoughts. She shivered.

"Relax Stevens. I was only kidding." He sat down on the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn. "If you could have seen the look on your face…" Shaking his head, he ate a few kernels. "I didn't think I repulsed you that much."

Rolling her eyes, she sat on the opposite end of the couch, the bowl of popcorn in her lap. "My constant rejection didn't give you a clue?" She popped a kernel in her mouth. She allowed the popcorn to melt on her tongue, the buttery aroma filling her nostrils and her throat.

"Do you like football?" he asked as he reached for the remote.

"No." She swatted his hand away. "I'm watching this movie."

"That didn't exactly answer my question."

"What does any of this have to do with your plan? Are you going to tackle Dr. Shepherd to the ground until he decides to be your friend?"

"No," he said as he pulled out two tickets from his jacket pocket. "This is my plan. Tickets to the Seahawks game Sunday night, fifty yard line."

She threw a handful of popcorn at him. "If winning back your best friend required tickets to a football game, why the hell did you involve me in your stupid scheme to begin with?"

Picking up a kernel that landed on his shirt, he put the piece in his mouth. "Believe me if that's all I had to do, I wouldn't be here with you. I don't even like you."

She picked up a piece of popcorn that had fallen in the cracks between the cushions of the couch. "But you want to have sex with me?" She flicked the kernel, hitting him right between the eyes.

He rubbed his forehead. "You don't have to like someone to sleep with them. Angry sex is great sex."

Izzie's entire body shook as invisible hands gripped her thighs and unseen teeth nipped at her neck. "Uh…huh."

"What's the matter, Stevens? Got an itch that needs to be scratched?"

Scooting over until her hip hit the arm of the sofa, she glared at him. "No." She turned her attention to the movie. "What do you need me to do with those football tickets?"

"Ah, yes," he said. "Those tickets. When Derek gets home, I'll ask you to the game."

"But I don't want to go."

"Good. You're not actually invited. You tell me no and I ask Derek if he wants to go instead."

"No use in having perfectly good football tickets go to waste."

"Exactly."

She turned back to the movie. There was a commercial advertising shampoo. "Why'd you come here when nobody else was here? Couldn't you have stopped by later?"

"Yes. I just enjoy torturing you."

Izzie gripped the bowl on her lap. She kept her feet planted to the carpet, using every ounce of her self-control not to dump the entire bowl of popcorn on Mark's head. She smiled as the movie came back on, the couple expressing their undying love for each other. "Fine," she picked the cola off of the table. The can fizzed as she pushed back the snap. The bubbles tickled her throat as she took a sip. "You can stay and wait for Meredith and Derek to come back from their date, but you have to watch this movie with me."

He grumbled next to her but didn't move. He shifted his position several times before he finally settled. "Can't we watch baseball or something? This is a chick flick. I don't do chick flicks."

"You can always leave. I just won't let you back in later."

He didn't respond.

Izzie smiled. If he could torture her, she was going to do the same. And she could do it so much better because he was the one that needed her, not the other way around.

They watched the movie in silence. Mark occasionally slid his hand across the couch, brushed past her thigh before finally reaching the destination of her lap. He grabbed a handful of popcorn, a knowing smirk on his face as the back of his hand grazed her thigh again. She allowed him to do this. She would get back at him later.

Mark's hand was inching its way back toward the bowl of popcorn when the doorbell rang.

"Expecting someone Stevens?"

She shook her head.

"Should I be jealous?"

"It might just be Derek and Meredith. One time I caught them making out on the porch. Her back was against the doorbell."

"Maybe I should get it. Derek would love to see me."

She glared at him. "No."

The sound of the doorbell was replaced by knocking. "Guess it's not them," Mark said.

Izzie got up to answer the door. She stopped when Mark reached for the remote that she left on the coffee table. She grabbed it before he could reach it.

"Hey," he said. "Can't I see the game while you get rid of the person at the door?"

"No. Somebody has to watch the movie. You need to tell me what I missed."

She set the remote on top of the television set as she made her way to the door.

Izzie opened the door. George stood there, his hands in his pockets. He shifted nervously from one foot to the other while he stared at his shoes. Izzie closed the door behind her.

"George," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I told Callie. I told her that we slept together and that I'm in love with you."

Izzie smiled and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. "You finally told her. That's great. Now we can be together."

He kept his arms at his side, never returning her hug. "No, we can't." He pushed her away from him and stared at her. "Was he worth it?"

She knitted her brow and narrowed her eyes. She shook her head. "What?"

"Dr. Sloan," the words oozed from his mouth, laced with disdain.

Izzie's heart began to beat faster, her hands became clammy. A tiny knot formed in the pit of her stomach. "What are you talking about? What does Dr. Sloan have to do with us?"

"You slept with him," he screamed. "Was it good? I would hate to think that you threw away our future together for bad sex."

She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. "I didn't." She bit her lip to keep herself from crying.

"Then why is he here? And don't lie to me; his car is in the driveway."

"He's waiting for Derek. He has tickets to the football game this weekend and wanted to ask if he wanted to go." The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth as she continued to chew the inside of her cheek.

"Liar!" he said, his eyes widening. He pointed a finger at her. "You're a whore. Always have been. Always will be."

She had never seen George this angry before. She took a step back, her body pressed against the doorknob. "I'm not a whore," she stated softly.

He came up to her and pressed his face next to hers. His lips were next to her ear, a gesture that once made her shiver. Now, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You had a daughter when you were sixteen," he whispered into her ear. "You slept with Alex because you couldn't control your sexual urges. You had sex with me even though I'm married. And now…" He pulled away from her, backing up off the porch. "Now, you're sleeping with Mark Sloan because you couldn't wait for me to end my marriage," he said, his voice rising as he got farther away from her.

She balled her hands into fists, her fingernails cutting into her palm. "You know what," she screamed. "You're right. I'm nothing more than a whore," she gritted her teeth. "A whore," she said lowering her voice, the word was bitter as it passed through her lips. "A whore." The bile rose in her throat. She swallowed. "Go back to your wife," she stated, her voice no longer portraying her emotions.

Izzie closed the door behind her as she reentered the living room. Mark was still in the room, watching television from the couch. Their eyes locked for an instant as she brushed past him on her way upstairs. She frantically knocked on Meredith's door before moving on to Alex's. Remembering that her roommates were both on dates, she ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Once she was safely in the confines of her bedroom, she let out a gut wrenching scream. The tears that she had so desperately tried to suppress earlier flowed down her cheeks. Mimicking their movement, she slid down the wall to the floor. Balling her hands into fists, she slammed them against carpet. She struggled to gain control of her breathing, her sobs coming from deeper within her chest.

Someone entered her room. She looked up. Her eyes met those of the intruder. "Get out!"

Mark sat on the floor next to her and wrapped his arms around her body. She tried to push him away which only made him hold on to her more tightly. She gripped his biceps before finally turning her head to his chest. "I love him," she cried.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered into her hair.


	6. The Aftermath

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

A/N: I didn't intend for George to come off as mean as I did. He had just ended his marriage and was really angry to see Mark and Izzie together. The conversation just sort of took a life of its own as I wrote it and who am I to disagree?

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark sat in the chair behind his desk, cringing as the pain pulsated from his legs to his back. He looked through his patient's chart, making notes about the surgery. He didn't bother looking up when someone opened the door to his office.

"Thank you," she said.

He had heard everything. The fight with George had been loud and intense. When she came back inside, she was quiet. The movie had just ended when she started screaming. He bounded up the stairs, taking two steps at a time to make sure she was okay. He found her on the floor, rocking back and forth as she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. He wasn't sure what compelled him to go to her at the time. Perhaps it was the fact that he never liked seeing a woman cry. Perhaps he thought that he still needed her to help him with Derek. But whatever the reason, he scooped her up into his arms and held her. She cried for several hours, calling herself stupid for falling for George. He simply stroked her hair and rubbed small circles on her back while softly telling her that everything was going to be okay. Her sobs finally subsided, her breathing became even. She had fallen asleep. Afraid to wake her, he pressed his back against the wall with Izzie cradled in his arms and closed his eyes.

When he woke up that morning, she was already awake and down stairs.

"Izzie, is everything okay?" Alex said as Mark entered the kitchen.

Izzie had her back to them, feverishly pouring batter into a frying pan. The smell of blueberries permeated the room, stacks of pancakes and waffles lined the counter. Alex, Meredith, and Derek sat at the island, pleading with her to tell them what was wrong.

"I should have known you had something to do with this," Derek said.

Mark didn't bother responding. He didn't do anything wrong and even if he defended himself, they wouldn't believe him anyway. He sat down at the counter and grabbed a plate of pancakes. He ate in silence staring at the back of Izzie's form as she made more pancakes.

He set the pen down on the desk and looked up from the file. Izzie's hair was tied up in a sloppy ponytail, dark circles surrounded her eyes. She chewed her bottom lip, her fingers tapped her thigh. "Thank you," she repeated. "For last night. For everything."

He stood up and walked over to her. He tentatively placed his hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay," he said. "I'm used to being used by women. Addison did it to get back at Derek. And you did it to make O'Malley jealous. At least with you, I never thought I had a chance. We were using each other."

She gave him a small smile, her eyes revealing the same sadness he had seen when she looked at him in that moment after the fight she had with George. "Thanks," she said. "For not judging me."

"I am the original dirty mistress. I have no right to judge." He folded his arms across his chest. "Are you going to try to work things out with him?"

She shook her head. "No, it's over. I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me."

"Well," he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "I guess this is it. I'm sorry that my plan ruined your relationship with O'Malley."

She gave him another false smile. "It's not your fault. I should have told you no."

"I wouldn't have taken no for an answer."

"No, no you didn't. Okay, it is your fault."

He shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I have a way that makes women say yes to me." He scratched his chin. "I'm just going to have to figure out another way to get Derek back."

She put her hand on his arm. "I still want to help you," she said as she gave his arm a slight squeeze.

"I couldn't ask you to do that. It was a bad idea to begin with. The whole thing turned into a disaster."

"This thing is just going to take some time. Time that I'm now willing to put in."

He shook his head. "No. I'm not going to make you do this. I'll think of something else."

She gripped his arm, her fingernails digging into his skin. "Please," she begged. "I need this. I need a distraction. I've made a lot of stupid decisions this past year."

"One of which was agreeing to help me."

"No…yes," she shook her head. "Look, if I help you repair your friendship with Dr. Shepherd, it will keep me occupied. I won't have time to make stupid romantic decisions. I won't have to time to screw up my life even more than I already have. Please, just say that you'll let me help you."

Mark put his hand over his mouth to muffle his laugh. Izzie was begging him to let her help him. That had to be a first. "Okay."

"Okay." She smiled, the light not reaching her eyes. "But the same rules apply. Breaking those would qualify as one of those stupid decisions."

"Fine." He stuck out his hand. "So we're still going to do this, Stevens."

"Call me Izzie," she said, a half-smile playing across her lips.

"What?"

"If you want Derek to really believe that the two of us are dating, I think you should call me by my first name."

He nodded, understanding her words. "Only if you call me Mark."

"Deal," she said as she stuck out her hand, her smile still not quite reaching her eyes.

"Oh, and Izzie," he said as she started to turn the doorknob.

"Yeah," she said, turning around to face him.

"They get a divorce."

"What?" She furrowed her eyebrows, worry lines clearly etched across her forehead.

"The movie. That's how it ended. They realized that they made better friends than lovers."

"Thanks," she said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She placed her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Mark. I see who Derek must have been friends with all those years," she said, her smile finally reaching her eyes. "See you later."

"Yeah," he said while he scratched the back of his neck. "Later."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Thanks to those of you that have taken the time to read and review my fic. This chapter was supposed to be longer but I decided to break it into two parts because I liked the way that this ended. If I get some good reviews, I might be tempted to post the second half of the chapter soon.


	7. It's Your Thing

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark stood over his patient, scalpel in hand. Rachel Carson was a fifteen year old girl who had been bitten by a pit bull two days prior. The dog had taken a large chunk out of the girl's right cheek and nose. He was doing his best to repair the damage and reconstruct her nose. Meredith stood next to him, expertly making incisions as he instructed. Two of her interns watched the operation from the perimeter of the room.

Mark looked up from Rachel. George's eyes were tiny slits as he stared at him and even though he couldn't see it, Mark was sure that there was a scowl beneath George's surgical mask. Mark returned his attention to the teenager currently on the operating table beneath him. Mark continued the surgery, the only words exchanged concerning the patient.

"Good job Dr. Grey," Mark said once the surgery was completed.

"I'm not talking to you. You did something to Izzie last night."

Mark didn't say anything.

"What the hell did you do to her?" she asked as she pointed a finger in his face. "I may not be able to beat you up, but Derek, Alex, Christina, and George can."

Mark still didn't respond. He stood there, arms folded across his chest as Meredith continued to berate him.

"You don't deserve her," George said as he walked up beside Meredith.

"Honestly O'Malley, your opinion means absolutely nothing to me."

"Izzie is our friend," Meredith said. "We're just concerned about her. The last time she was that upset she spent the day lying on the bathroom floor."

"I didn't do anything to her. We watched a movie together. That's it." Mark turned and walked away.

Meredith followed quickly behind him. She placed her hand on his arm which stopped him. "If you didn't do anything to her, why was she so upset this morning?"

Mark turned around. Meredith stared back at him, arms folded, her foot tapping the tile.

"Why don't you ask your favorite intern," he said as he pointed at George who had joined them in the conversation. "He showed up last night and after he left, Izzie was upset."

"You slept with her," George said. "You slept with her and then dumped her. Did you tell her that you loved her?"

George really had some nerve accusing him of these things. That's exactly what he had done to her. And now George stood there staring at him, his hands balled into fists as if he wanted to punch him in the face. "I don't need to tell a woman that I love her to get her to sleep with me."

George took a step forward, his fists drawn in front of him, prepared to fight. Meredith grabbed his shoulders to stop him. "Don't," she warned. "He's an attending." She turned to look at Mark. "Leave Izzie alone."

Mark ignored her. He turned his attention to George who was still looking at him as if he wanted to kill him. "She was telling the truth. We're not having some love affair. I wasn't there last night to see her. I went to Meredith's to see Derek. She told me I could wait for him there."

"I don't believe you."

"Why would I lie? Do I look like the type of guy who would lie about not having sex with someone?"

George opened his mouth to say something but immediately shut it. He stuffed his hands into coat pockets.

"You're the one that screwed up O'Malley. Don't you dare blame me for your problems."

"What are you talking about?" Meredith asked.

"She's in love with you," Mark said. "How a woman like her could ever love someone like you, I really don't know. But after what you said to her last night, I doubt that she'll ever forgive you." He turned to Meredith. "He's the one you should be telling to leave Izzie alone, not me."

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Ask O'Malley," Mark said as he walked away. "I have more important things to deal with."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Throwing her keys on a table as she entered her house, Izzie stretched her wary muscles, grateful to be home after her exhausting day. Every time she entered a room, people immediately stopped talking and stared at her. They whispered when they thought she wasn't listening. The entire hospital was talking about her affair with George.

Meredith and Alex were already home. They sat on the couch, discussing something, most likely her. Christina was on the chair. She smiled when Izzie entered the living room.

"Bambi. Seriously?" Christina said. "What is it about him that makes you guys sleep with him?"

"Careful Christina," Izzie said. "You might be next."

She scoffed. "I'm not as pathetic as you or Meredith."

"Do you want to, you know, talk about it?" Meredith asked.

"No."

"Thank god," Christina said.

"Is it true?" Alex asked.

"That I slept with George?"

"No." he said. "That you didn't sleep with Sloan."

She nodded her head.

"Are you going to?" Christina asked.

"No."

Meredith, Christina and Alex snickered.

"Are you going to fall in love with him?" Alex asked.

She laughed. There was no way that she was going to fall in love with him. He may have been nice to her the night before but he was still an ass. He was a rebound guy and you don't fall in love with the rebound guy. Especially when the relationship isn't real.

"It's your thing," Alex said.

"What are you talking about?" Izzie asked.

"You know how Meredith's thing is to get drunk and sleep with inappropriate men?"

"Hey!" Meredith said. She threw a pillow at Alex, hitting him on the head. "I don't do that anymore."

"Yeah," Alex said. He turned back to Izzie. "You get drunk and fall in love with inappropriate men."

"I wasn't drunk."

"Perhaps," Alex said. "But you do fall in love with inappropriate men."

"I do not."

"Yes you do." Alex laughed. "This year alone you did it three times. First…" he grabbed his right index finger with his left hand… "There was me."

Izzie threw another pillow at Alex's head. "I wasn't in love with you."

"Me," he began again. "It is inappropriate to fall in love with your co-worker."

"Especially when said co-worker is Evil Spawn," Christina added.

"And a cheater," Meredith said.

Alex glared at them before continuing. "Then…" he placed a second finger in his left hand… "There was Denny."

"There was nothing wrong with Denny. He was a good man."

"Who also happened to be your patient. You see where I'm going with this."

"No," Izzie said.

"Third…" he added another finger… "George. Married, best friend George."

She stuck her tongue out at Alex. "You suck."

"So you see love and inappropriate men is your thing."

"Says the guy who is currently dating a former patient," Meredith said.

"His married former patient," Christina said.

He sneered at the two women. "We are not discussing my issues. We are discussing Izzie's."

Izzie grabbed a pillow from the couch and smacked Alex in the head. "We're done discussing my issues. She hit him again. "I want to discuss your issues."

"I'm not one of your girlie friends," he said. "I'm a man. I don't discuss my problems. I fix them."

"And yet," Meredith said as she grabbed another pillow from the couch. "You're here."

"I am fixing my problems," Izzie said before Meredith could throw another pillow at Alex. "I'm dating Mark Sloan."

"And that doesn't scream inappropriate man to you?" Alex said.

She smiled. "Inappropriate, definitely. But there is no way I'm going to fall in love with him."

"Good sex," Christina said. "No commitments. Sign me up."

"Yeah," Izzie said. "Something like that."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yay! I wrote three chapters in three days. Thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review. It really means a lot to me.

Read and Review.


	8. No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

A/N: This is basically filler. But it's fun and I hope you guys like it. Happy Halloween!

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sounds of squeaking bedsprings and a pounding headboard wafted downstairs and into the kitchen. Alex and Christina sat perched at the island; their bodies slumped slightly over the counter. Meredith rummaged through the cabinets looking for a pot, pretending not to hear the moans coming from upstairs. Derek stood at the stove adding various spices to the dish he was creating.

"That's the third time tonight," Christina's voice broke through the awkward silence that had engulfed the room.

"Are we that bad?" Meredith asked as she pointed from herself to Derek.

"No," Derek said as he took the pot from Meredith's hands. "We are in a committed relationship. They are just having sex."

"Really loud sex," Christina commented.

"Do you think that he's taking advantage of her?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Derek said. "That's his style. He finds vulnerable women and uses them."

"Don't you think that you're being a bit harsh?" Meredith asked. "Izzie says that the two of them are in a relationship."

"A relationship based on sex," Derek said.

"Izzie likes him," Meredith said. "I promised her that I would give him a chance. You should too."

Christina shrugged her shoulders. "What do I care? Barbie can screw whoever she wants."

Alex shook his head. "As long as he doesn't hurt her, I don't have a problem with it."

Derek laughed. "Don't look at me like that. You know how I feel about Mark Sloan. There is no way that I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's using her and when he gets tired of her, she's going to end up with a broken heart—again."

Meredith placed her hand on Derek's shoulder. "When that happens, you have my permission to kill him. Until then, could you at least pretend to be nice to him?"

Derek turned and kissed her. "I'll try. But no guarantees."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sweat dripped down Izzie's chin as she bounced on her mattress. Her hair flew wildly around her face. "Oh Mark," she cried out followed by a light giggle. Mark sat on the floor, shaking his head as Izzie continued to jump on her bed like an eight year old girl. Izzie had suggested that Mark spend the night at Meredith's house; this would force Derek to deal with Mark in the evenings and the mornings. It was an imperfect plan though. Mark tried to talk to Derek while Derek spent the time telling Mark that he didn't belong there and how he should go back to his hotel.

Mark stared at her, an amused grin on his face. "Nobody is going to believe that we're having sex."

She stopped jumping, her body landing on the bed with a thump. "Why not? Should I be doing this?" She crawled to the top of her bed and started banging the headboard against the wall.

"Your roommates aren't stupid. They know what sex sounds like. That," he waved his arms around, "is just noise."

Izzie flipped over on the bed. "What do you suggest we do to make it more believable?"

Mark climbed on the bed, his body pressed tightly against hers. "Let them hear what sex with me really sounds like," he whispered into her ear, his hot breath sending a shiver down her spine.

They have played this game every night for the past week since she invited him to stay there. She jumped on the bed or banged the headboard against the wall while he commented about how unreal the entire thing was. He suggested they take the relationship to the next step and try to seduce her. They teased each other until one of them, usually her, stopped before they went too far.

She flipped them over so that she was on top. She straddled his hips and bent her head allowing her hair to gently graze his bare chest. She lowered her head to his ear. "I could have sex with you," she said before she bit down on his earlobe.

He growled as he ran his fingers through her hair and down her back. "Yes, you could."

"And I assure you it will be the best sex that you will ever have." She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, her fingers digging into the soft flesh of his arms.

"I can assure you the same thing," he said as he tried to flip them to their original position.

She resisted, placing her hands on his arms. She raked her fingernails down his chest, stopping at the top of his jeans. "But," she unbuttoned the jeans. "It's a one time deal."

"I could live with that," he said as he wriggled himself out of his jeans.

She pressed her lips to his abdomen, her tongue dipping into his bellybutton. "And," she placed a small kiss on the thin line of hair above his navel. "If we do this," she travelled the length of his body, leaving a trail of wet kisses on his chest. "I won't help you with Derek anymore." She crushed her lips against his, eliciting a stifled groan from Mark. She sat back up, his arousal pressed against her thigh. "Well?"

Closing his eyes, he slammed his head against her pillow. "I'm thinking."

Standing up on the bed, she got off of him. "I can't believe that you're even considering this."

Propping himself up on his elbows, he opened his eyes and stared at her. "Can I have both?"

Throwing her arms into the air, she let out a frustrated groan. "How can you put sex before your friendship?"

"I haven't had sex in three weeks."

"Oh, that makes it so much better. Is that what you told Derek when he found you in bed with his wife?"

"No."

"You are such a wh..." the rest of the word stuck in her throat, George's harsh words consuming her thoughts.

"I'm a what?" he asked.

"Do you like ice cream?"

"I'm ice cream?"

She shook her head. "No. I asked you if you liked ice cream. I feel like eating ice cream and was wondering if you wanted some too."

"Yeah, sure," he said.

She left the room and made her way downstairs. She entered the kitchen. Derek and Meredith stood in front of the sink doing dishes. Alex sat at the table eating what could only be described as mush. Christina leaned against the counter talking about her latest surgery.

"Do you want something to eat?" Meredith asked. "Derek made dinner and there's some left over in the fridge."

"No thanks," Izzie said as she opened the freezer. "I ate earlier and I'm not that hungry." Unable to decide between chocolate and vanilla, Izzie pulled both cartons from the freezer.

Christina snickered. "You're workout with McSteamy didn't wear you out?"

"We weren't having sex," she said as she placed the ice cream on the counter.

Alex dropped his fork. "You're kidding right?"

"Do you expect us to believe that you have been sharing the same bed for a week and aren't having sex?" Christina asked.

"He's not sleeping in my bed," Izzie said as she grabbed two bowls from the cupboard. "I make him sleep on the floor."

Meredith, Christina, Alex and Derek all started to laugh. The absurdity of Mark Sloan sleeping on the floor in the bedroom of a woman he wasn't having sex with wasn't lost on her. He had a big bed in a hotel room and plenty of women who more than willing to sleep with him. Had it been anyone but Mark Sloan she wouldn't have told them the truth. Had it been anyone but Mark Sloan they might have believed her. When she had suggested that he spend the night with her she made this stipulation. It was one thing to kiss him; it was another to wake up in his arms.

"So who's better in bed?" Christina asked.

"Excuse me?" Izzie scooped the ice cream into the bowls.

"Bambi or McSteamy?"

She put the ice cream back in the freezer.

"I don't see how any of that is your business."

"We're all curious," Christina said.

Izzie brushed past Derek as she got two spoons from the silverware drawer. "So Meredith, who's better in bed, Derek or George?"

"Christina," Meredith said. "Izzie's sex life is none of our business."

Izzie laughed. "See, you're the only one that wants to know. And I'm not telling you."

"Because you're not sleeping with him?" Alex asked.

"That's why I like you," she said, pointing at him.

Christina rolled her eyes. "Evil Spawn or Bambi?"

Izzie set the bowls back on the counter. "Seriously?" She took a bite of her ice cream.

"Oh please," Alex said. "There is no question that I am way better than George."

"Of course you are," Izzie said as she picked up the two bowls.

"Alex or Sloan?" Christina countered.

Izzie winked at them as she backed out of the kitchen and headed back upstairs.

Izzie handed a bowl and spoon to Mark as soon as she entered her bedroom.

"What the hell took you so long?" he asked as he sat down on the floor next to her.

"Roommates," she said as the cold dessert touched her lips. The mixture of chocolate and vanilla danced on her tongue before it slid down her throat.

"What about them?" he asked as he took a bite of his ice cream.

"They wanted to know who was better in bed."

Mark cocked an eyebrow, the spoon hanging out of his mouth.

"George, Alex or you."

Mark let the spoon drop into the bowl. "Karev? You slept with him?"

Izzie licked the spoon. "We dated."

"Really? He doesn't seem like your type."

"And what exactly is my type?"

"Nice, decent, not so…" he waved his hands in the air… "cocky."

"Alex is not that bad once you get to know him. He's a great guy."

"Then why aren't you together?"

Izzie set the spoon down and moved the empty bowl to the side. "He cheated on me."

Mark picked his bowl up from the floor. "Sounds like a great guy."

Izzie shrugged her shoulders. "I slept with him after we broke up but I fell in love with Denny."

Mark nodded. "And then he slept with Addison."

"What?"

"Yep. She and I were supposed to be abstaining from sex for sixty days. I caught them coming out of a closet."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay. I cheat. It's only fair that I get cheated on."

"I know what it's like to be cheated on and it sucks. That's why I don't cheat on my boyfriends."

"No, you just sleep with married men." He took a bite of the ice cream.

Izzie stood up and glared at him. "I can't believe you just said that." She yanked the bowl out of his hands.

"I wasn't done with that," he said, the spoon still in his hand.

"Yes you were," she said as she put his bowl in her own. She opened the door and left the room.

"What is your problem?" he called after her.

She stopped halfway down the stairs. "You are the most insensitive jack ass that I have ever met."

"What about Karev? It seems to me that any of the things he's done to you pales in comparison to anything I've done."

Izzie shook her head and continued down the stairs.

"You're nice to him. Why can't you be nice to me?"

Abruptly turning around, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Because I never had to fake it with Alex!" she screamed.

"Well at least we have an answer to our question," Christina said behind her.

Izzie turned around. Meredith and Alex were both staring at her with their mouths wide open.

Derek had a smirk on his face. "Having problems in the bedroom, Mark?"

"Shut up," Mark said as he turned around and went back to Izzie's room.

Ignoring her roommates, Izzie placed the bowls in the sink and quickly headed upstairs. She closed the door behind her and burst into laughter.

"You think that's funny?" Mark asked.

Izzie sprawled herself out on her bed. "Yes."

Scowling, Mark grabbed the pillow and blankets that he used. "You could have told them that we weren't talking about sex."

Izzie wiped the tears out of her eyes. "They wouldn't have believed me. Besides, it serves you right for being such an ass."

"Now Derek is going to make fun of me."

"Good. Maybe you guys can bond over breakfast and I can get rid of you." Izzie yawned.

"Karev is going to use this against me," he said as he laid his head on the pillow. "He's going to taunt me and I'm going to have to use surgeries to shut him up."

"Don't forget Christina. She's going to make sure that the whole hospital knows that you can't satisfy me in bed."

"I can satisfy you. You just won't let me."

Izzie snuggled beneath her covers. "Keep telling yourself that." She threw a pillow on the floor. "Here."

"What's this for?"

"My way of saying sorry."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Okay, so I couldn't resist the play on words that the title of my story implies. The next chapter will get back to the angsty stuff but will have some good McStizzie moments.

Anyhoo, thanks to all that have read and especially to those that have taken the time to review.

Read & Review!


	9. A Muffin in the Oven

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark stood in front of her house, his hand poised over the front door. Resisting the urge to run, he let his hand fall on the wood in front of him, his knuckles pounding on the door. He waited a few minutes before he rapped his fist on the door again, harder this time. Izzie opened the door, a scowl firmly planted on her face. Her hair was in a messy bun, loose tendrils sticking to her forehead. Mark didn't wait for an invitation. He pushed his way past her and sat down on the couch.

She sat down next to him, the scowl still marring her features. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Mark didn't look at her, his head in his hands. He had asked himself that same question. Derek had announced that he was going out of town a few days ago. Derek's mother had called and requested that he come to New York for a visit. Only, Derek's mother didn't call him and he wasn't going to New York. When Mark called Derek out on his lie, he confessed that Addison called him and asked him to visit her in Los Angeles. Addison. It always came back to Addison. She was the reason that he and Derek were no longer friends. She was the reason that he was not yet a father. He wanted to find some seedy little bar on the outskirts of town. He wanted to find some nameless, faceless woman and press her up against a wall. He wanted to forget about Addison and the baby and the abortion.

After Derek's admission, Mark left the hospital and just drove. He didn't know where he was going; it really didn't matter. When he saw the familiar outline of Meredith's house, he stopped the car. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to drive there in the first place. He knew that a mindless screw would temporarily ease the pain. But he didn't want a momentary fix; he wanted a permanent one. He needed to talk to somebody. Before, that had been Derek. Now all he had was a fake girlfriend.

Izzie touched his arm, her fingers warm to the touch. He lifted his head from his hands and turned toward her. Her glare intensified, her brown eyes burning a hole in his head.

"I asked you what you were doing here. We had an agreement."

Ah, the agreement. Mark was supposed to sleep in his own bed, in his own hotel room. He was supposed to find a woman and sleep with her so that he would stop hitting on Izzie. And if Derek had gone to New York that's exactly what Mark would have done. But he didn't go to New York. So Mark was left with a bitter taste in his mouth and a gnawing pain on his conscience.

"I needed to talk to somebody," he said. "Is there some rule against that?"

"I think that was rule number two."

He shook his head. He was in no mood for her antics. Not tonight. "I promise that I won't touch you. And this is not a date."

She gritted her teeth. "Fine," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Where are your roommates?"

"Alex is out on a date with Rebecca and Meredith is busy."

"Doing what?" he asked when she didn't offer and explanation of the young waif's whereabouts.

Izzie laughed the same condescending laugh that made his skin crawl. "Since Derek left for New York this afternoon, Meredith has declared herself single for the weekend. Christina dragged her off somewhere to celebrate how much they hate men. I wasn't invited because my boyfriend is in town." She stopped laughing. "Only you're not my boyfriend and I hate men."

"Derek didn't go to New York," Mark said, in no mood for their usual verbal sparring. "He went to L.A. To see Addison." Her name slipped past his tongue, an acrimonious singe to his words.

"What? Why?"

"She called him."

"And he came running? What about Meredith?"

"She wants a baby," he said. "Addison, not Meredith," he clarified when Izzie's eyes widened.

"And Derek is going there to impregnate her?"

Mark laughed. Addison had asked for a child throughout her marriage to Derek. Every time that she brought up the subject of starting a family with Derek, he would tell her that it wasn't the best time. It was one of the things that had put a strain on their marriage. It was one of the things that she cried to Mark about before the affair. If Derek had been unwilling to have a baby with her when they were married, there was no way he would have one with her now that they were divorced. No, she had called him because she needed a friend.

"She wanted his opinion about something. I'm not sure. Derek and I aren't exactly on the friendliest of terms. All he told me was that Addison called him about a baby. And that I better keep my mouth shut because if Meredith ever found out about it, he would kill me."

"So you tell me? I thought the purpose of our charade was to bring you and Derek closer together, not drive a permanent wedge between the two of you."

"I trust you. You're not going to tell anybody else."

"What's really going on? You can't be that concerned about Meredith."

"She was pregnant." Mark took a deep breath, the memory overwhelming his senses. When Addison had told him that she was going to have a baby, his baby, he had been excited. When she told him that she had gotten rid of the baby, it had cut him to the core. She tore out his heart and stepped on it.

"You were the father?" Izzie asked.

He nodded his head. "She had an abortion. She only wanted a baby with Derek. I guess she just didn't want one with me. She said that I would have been a terrible father."

"She was selfish."

"What if she was right?"

Izzie didn't say anything for a few minutes, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"The first time I fell in love I was fifteen. I lost my virginity to him."

Mark didn't say anything, terrified that if he spoke, she would realize that it was him that she was talking to and not one of her friends.

"We were going to get married. I was going to become a famous surgeon and he was going to be a high-powered attorney. But that all changed."

Mark placed his hand on Izzie's shoulder. She turned toward him, a pained expression on her face. "What happened?" he whispered, loud enough so that she would hear him but soft enough so he didn't scare her away.

"I told him that I was pregnant. He called me a slut. He said that I cheated on him and that the baby wasn't his."

Mark didn't know what to say. He had no idea that Izzie had a child. He never saw her with one and her friends never mentioned it. That's when it hit him. She had become unusually quiet when he mentioned Addison's pregnancy and after he said the word abortion she had pulled away from him even further. She said that she was pregnant; she never said that she had a baby.

"My mother wanted me to keep the baby. She said that she would help me take care of it." She took a deep breath. "I thought about it. But I couldn't go through with it. I had dreams and a baby would complicate things."

Mark silently kicked himself. He came here to complain about Addison and his unborn child. And here was Izzie Stevens exposing her darkest secret to him. He was an idiot.

"Sometimes I wonder if I had been selfish. I think about what my life would be like right now. I would probably still be in the trailer park, the mother of an eleven year old child."

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't know."

She shrugged her shoulders. "She's better off without me. She has a mother and a father that care about her very much. They have given her so much more than I ever could have."

Izzie laid her hand on Mark's cheek. "Addison never once thought about the baby. What she did was for her own selfish desire to be with Derek. She knew that if she had your baby, Derek would never take her back."

Mark placed his hand over hers that rested on his cheek. Izzie was a strong woman. She had been through so much as a child and yet here she was smiling and happy, making something of herself. He had always assumed that she was perky and optimistic because she lived a carefree childhood. If he had been through what she had gone through, he would be worse than he already was. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to wash away years of loneliness and regret. He wanted to fix a woman who had grown up too fast. But he didn't move. He kept her hand on his cheek, the gentle contact of her fingers enough to stop him.

She pulled her hand away, her fingertips tracing the outline of his beard. "Come with me." She grabbed his hand and tugged him off of the couch. She dragged him into the kitchen before she let go of his hand. She opened the cabinets, taking out large ceramic bowls. She placed measuring cups and spoons on the counter in front of him. Canisters of flour and sugar, both neatly labeled came out of the pantry; salt and cinnamon were taken from the spice rack. She smiled at him as she walked to the refrigerator. "Here," she said as she handed him an egg.

"What's this for?"

She took a smaller bowl from the counter and put it in his other hand. "We're making muffins."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She smiled as she looked at him. "Whenever I'm stressed out, I bake. You are definitely stressed out."

She carefully poured flour into a measuring cup, bending down so that she was eye level with the lines of the measuring cup. She smoothed out the top of the flour before she stood back up. She dumped the flour into the largest bowl before repeating the process with the sugar.

He cracked the egg into the smaller bowl. She took the bowl from him and added it to the other ingredients. She handed him other components, instructing him how to add each one to the mixture.

"Now stir it," she said. She added blueberries to the recipe as he blended them with the rest of the ingredients.

He placed the batter on the counter before he poured it into a muffin pan.

"I think you'd make a great father," she said after they placed the muffins in the oven.

"What makes you say that?"

She looked at him for a few moments before she answered him. "Because you're here with me, making blueberry muffins."

He thought about her words for a moment. Certainly parenting ability had nothing to do with one's skills in the kitchen. His own mother had been a descent cook.

"What does that have to do with being a good father?"

"When your daughters come home and tell you that they need three hundred muffins for a bake sale, you'll be there in the kitchen helping them, no matter how long it takes you to make them."

"What if I have a son?"

She laughed. "You won't have any sons. No matter how often you and your wife try for a boy, you will end up with all girls."

"What makes you say that?"

She laughed again, harder this time. "Because you are Mark Sloan, the biggest man whore America has ever seen."

"And?"

"And karma will make sure that you have all daughters. Hot daughters that every guy wants to date. It will be your job to ensure that your daughters don't get their hearts stomped on by men like you."

Images of a cherub-faced blonde little girl floated through his mind. She giggled as she jumped on her bed, hair flying behind her face as he twirled her around the room. She was soon replaced with a leggy redhead. She flicked her cigarette into an ashtray, a leather-clad bad boy's arm around her waist.

"My daughter will never be allowed to date."

"And if I would have had a father who thought that, I may not have ended up pregnant at sixteen."

Mark stared at her for a few minutes. The confident woman who had taught him to bake muffins had disappeared. She had been replaced by the scared little girl who had revealed her deepest scar to him. He grabbed her hand and led her out of the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" she asked when he set her down on the couch.

"You showed me your way to relieve stress. Now it's my turn to show you mine."

"I'm not going to have sex with you."

"You know," he said as he made his way to the liquor cabinet. "You say that a lot. How does that saying go? Me thinks the lady doth protest too much."

"I'm not going to sleep with you," she said again, her voice losing its biting edge. "I can't."

He set two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila on the coffee table. He bent down so that his eyes were at the same height as hers. "I promise that no matter how much you drink tonight. No matter how much you beg me to sleep with you, I won't take advantage. You and I will not be having sex. At least not tonight."

"Not ever," she said.

"We'll see about that." He poured two shots and placed one glass in front of Izzie. "Here's to lost opportunities." He placed the glass against his lips, threw back his head and drank the bitter liquid in one gulp.

The two sat around the coffee table for the next hour drinking and laughing, getting up only once to put another batch of muffins in the oven. Mark talked about the crazy things that he and Derek used to do when they were growing up. Izzie discussed her friends and the odd circumstances that they often found themselves in.

"You're an amazing woman," he said after another shot; he had lost count at seven.

She turned a shade of red. From his words or the alcohol, he wasn't sure. "You're not so bad yourself," she said, her words slurring together. She crawled across the floor. "You're the best pretend boyfriend ever." She giggled. She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Mark gently traced the outline of his bottom lip, the taste of cinnamon mixed with tequila still lingering there. "Iz…" His words were cut off as her lips descended on his again. Through his alcohol induced haze, he knew that this was wrong; he had promised her that they wouldn't do this. He pushed her away. "We can't," he said.

She hiccupped, her eyes glazed over. She shifted her position so that she was straddling his lap. "It's okay," she whispered. "We're going to have a baby." She pressed her mouth to his, her fingers tangled in his hair.

He groaned in frustration. He should have gone to a bar tonight. It had been too long since he last had been with a woman. He spent every night with Izzie, her body painfully teasing him. Now, as he sat there, her legs wrapped around his waist, her breasts pressed tightly against his chest and her tongue exploring the recesses of his mouth, he was slowly losing control. The voice that was telling him that this was wrong and he should push her away and go back to his hotel was fading in the background. It was replaced by a stronger voice that told him to shove her against the couch and have her screaming his name. Giving up, he allowed his hands to pull her closer to his body. His fingers searched beneath her shirt, the flesh on her back becoming heated against his touch.

A loud buzzing sound emanated from the kitchen. She pushed him off of her and jumped up. "They're ready!" She hurried to the other room.

He slammed his head against the couch. Izzie was going to be the death of him. One minute she was all over him, the next minute she was in the kitchen checking on those damn muffins. Did she want him or was she just teasing him again like she has for the past few weeks?

Izzie reentered the room with two muffins in her hands. She sat down next to him and handed him one of the muffins. "Here."

"What is this?" He sat up, his back against the couch.

"It's our baby," she said, a goofy grin on her face.

"Baby?"

She giggled. "Yes. We made it together so it is our baby." She took a large bite. "And we made a really good baby too."

He took a bite of his own muffin. She was right. It was one of the best muffins that he had ever eaten.

She leaned over. "The secret is the cinnamon. Everything tastes better with cinnamon."

He smiled. "Yeah, cinnamon makes everything better." Even things that it shouldn't.

She picked up the nearly empty bottle of tequila. She downed the remaining liquid in one swallow. "Everything is better when you're drunk."

"I think I should get you to bed," he said. He stood up and offered her his hand to help her up.

She reached up to take his hand. She got up too quickly and immediately fell back onto the sofa. "The world is spinning so fast," she murmured, closing her eyes. She placed her hands on her temples and started to rub. "I don't think I should have drunk that last bit of tequila." She stood up and ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

Mark sat down on the couch. Tonight had been a strange night. He attributed her earlier behavior to the amount of liquor she had consumed in the course of one hour. She didn't know what she was doing and he hoped that she wouldn't remember her awkward behavior and blame him in the morning.

A few minutes later the front door opened, Alex and Rebecca emerging into the house.

"Dr. Sloan," the dark haired woman said.

Mark nodded his acknowledgement.

Alex sat down next to Mark and motioned for Rebecca to meet him upstairs.

"Karev," Mark said. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

"Don't hurt her."

Mark was wondering when Alex was going to get around to warning him. All of Izzie's other friends had laid into him at some point already. Meredith and Christina had double teamed him, cornering him in the on-call room. Meredith explained the consequences of breaking Izzie's heart while Christina glared at him, her arms folded across her chest. Doctor Bailey lectured him on Izzie's past behavior with people, leaving him pondering if he should look over his back whenever he left the hospital. George's passive-aggressive behavior didn't go unnoticed by him either. The worst was Derek. He told him that he knew that he was going to hurt Izzie and that when that happened he was going to enjoy rubbing Mark's face in it to all of her friends.

"I won't," Mark said.

"I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt Addison either. But you did. Izzie's not as strong as Addison though."

"Izzie's stronger than you give her credit for."

"Izzie gets attached to people quickly. She puts her whole heart in everything that she does whether it's a patient's surgery or a relationship. And for that reason when the patient dies or the relationship fails, she loses a little piece of her heart."

"Why are you waiting until now to tell me?" They didn't like each other.

Alex smirked. "I didn't think it would last. I thought you were some fling that she was using to help her get over George. But here you are, five weeks later."

"I'm not going to do anything that will hurt her. She and I have an understanding."

"You better not do anything to screw it up. You won't get a second chance with her."

They were no longer talking about his relationship with Izzie. They were discussing Alex's relationship with her.

"She forgave you didn't she? You guys got back together after you cheated on her."

Alex shook his head. "She may let you back into her life. She may even let you back into her bed. But she will never let you back into her heart. There's nothing like being cared about by a person like Izzie."

Mark's earlier experience told him that Alex was right. Izzie's kind words and gentle understanding had eased his conscience. She was an extraordinary woman and he had no intention on destroying anymore pieces of her heart. He would do everything in his power to make sure that he didn't do anything that would hurt her.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie laid her head on the toilet, her arms hugging the sides. The bile rose in her throat, her stomach churning as she was overcome with another wave of nausea. She emptied whatever little contents were still in her stomach.

Somebody lightly knocked on the door before entering. "Are you okay?" Rebecca asked. She kneeled next to her and rubbed soothing circles on Izzie's back.

Izzie giggled, her mind still enjoying the effects of alcohol that her body was rejecting. "I have a secret," she said. She giggled again. "You can't tell anyone. Not even Alex."

"I promise that I won't say anything."

"Mark and I have a baby."

"Oh. Is that why you're sick?" Rebecca asked.

Izzie nodded her head. She didn't feel nauseous until after she had eaten that muffin. Maybe it was the cinnamon.

Mark walked into the room and stooped down next to Izzie. "Alex is waiting for you," he said to Rebecca. "I'll take care of her."

Rebecca got up and left. Mark lifted Izzie up off of the floor and brought her to her room. He laid her on the bed. Mark found the sheets he usually used and set up his sleeping area.

"Will you always take care of me?" she asked.

"Yes."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I am so sorry that this chapter took me so long to get up. I had some really bad writer's block that prevented me from getting this up sooner. But it is a super long chapter so I hope that it was worth the wait. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted. I have things that need to get done so it might be a couple of weeks. I'll try to find time to write it, but no guarentees.

Thanks to those of you that have read my story and and extra thanks to those that have taken the time to leave a review. And as always, Read and Review!


	10. One Step Forward

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Today was going to be a bad day. She could feel it as soon as she had gotten up that morning. She woke up on the couch wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before. Her mouth was dry and the taste of tequila still lingered on her breath from yet another late night drinking session with her pretend boyfriend. Mark was sprawled out on the floor next to her, his arms hugging a pillow. That would not have been a problem if Izzie had seen him. But as she rolled off the sofa that morning she tripped over his sleeping form and landed next to him, her head barely missing the coffee table. Her bad day didn't end there. She spent breakfast sitting next to Derek as he hurled insults at Mark, a few of which she was sure were directed toward her. She caught a ride to work with Alex so that Mark could spend some "alone" time with Derek and work on their relationship. That wouldn't have been that bad except she spent the entire car ride listening to Alex rave about his relationship with Rebecca, only serving as a reminder of how pathetic and lonely her love life had become. To make matters worse, the seven hour heart surgery with Doctor Hahn was unexpectedly cut short when the patient died during the operation. She left the O.R. frustrated and ran into Christina as she was yelling at her interns.

George was on the other end of the corridor trailing behind his fellow interns. He fidgeted with the papers in his hands. He dropped the file as he bumped into the person in front of him. He bent down to pick them up, his eyes connecting with Izzie's as he stood back up. He looked away from her just as quickly.

"Poor George," Lexie said.

Izzie turned toward the intern. "What do you mean? Is something wrong with him?"

"He and Callie decided to call it quits. She filed for divorce today."

"I thought they worked everything out."

"They tried," Lexie said. "Callie couldn't forgive him for the affair."

As if her day couldn't get any worse. She had to be reminded that she was once the other woman. And because of that affair she had destroyed a marriage and lost a friend.

Mark walked up to them. "OGDB," he said as he winked at Izzie.

"Mark, I…"

Christina gripped Izzie's shoulders and pushed her toward Mark. "Go get laid, Barbie. It will cheer you up."

OGDB—Operation Get Derek Back. She and Mark came up with this during one of their many late night baking sessions. They were tired of people interrupting them while they schemed together with ways for Mark to rebuild his friendship with Derek. She suggested that they come up with some sort of code to let the other know that they thought of a plan. Unfortunately, Izzie had been extremely exhausted that night and couldn't think of anything clever so OGDB stuck. Whenever one of them uttered it, the two of them would find an empty supply closet or on-call room at the hospital or they would go upstairs to her room if they were at Meredith's. Her friends automatically assumed that it was code for sex and Izzie didn't say anything for them to think otherwise.

Izzie followed Mark into the empty on-call room. She sat down on the bottom bunk, Mark settling in the spot next to her. He placed his hand on her thigh, a gesture which had become comforting in the past month.

"How's everything going with Derek?"

"The same."

That meant that Derek was still not talking to him. And when he did speak to Mark it was to yell at him or to make a passing derogatory comment. She squeezed Mark's bicep. "Did you do what I suggested?" She had told Mark to tell Derek that she and Mark had a fight and needed advice to make it up to her.

"He said to dump you and move back to New York."

"That was a bit harsh."

"I told him that I was never going to break up with you and he better get used to me hanging around."

Izzie grinned. That was the beauty of having a fake relationship. They could decide when to end things. She didn't have to worry about him doing anything to piss her off; she had no feelings invested in the relationship and didn't expect it to go anywhere. The first month and a half of their charade had been difficult for her. He used every opportunity that they were alone together to try and convince her to have sex with him. The last six weeks however, he had become more tolerable to be around. His advances became less frequent and when he did hit on her it wasn't as lecherous as it was in the beginning. They worked out a plan. Any night that either she or Meredith was on-call, Mark went to a bar, picked up a woman and fulfilled his needs. She suspected that this was the reason that he was being nice to her; he was getting some action.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me. What's going on?"

He always seemed to know when she wasn't telling the truth about how she was feeling. The only other person who was ever able to do that was George and he was never courageous enough to always call her out on it.

"A patient died on the table today," she said.

"That's not what's bothering you. You have a different look. Something else happened. Something worse than a patient dying."

She swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. She had a look for when a patient died? How the hell did he know that?

"It's not going to require a chocolate cake is it?" he asked.

Ever since that night that Mark stopped by and they baked muffins together, the two of them would bake something to help relieve the stress of the day. Cookies were for mundane days, usually reserved for when Derek's inability to connect with Mark frustrated the both of them. Muffins and brownies were for really crappy days, usually saved for times when one of them lost a patient or Derek was unusually cruel to Mark. They have yet to have a day that demanded a chocolate cake. That was reserved for life or death decisions and lying on the bathroom floor days. Of course there were days that required more than just baked goods. Some days needed alcohol and general complaining about how much their lives sucked.

"I'd say it's a brownies and tequila kind of day," she replied.

"That bad, huh?"

"George and Callie are getting a divorce."

"Oh," he said his voice lowering.

"I had to find out from Lexie. It just made me realize how much I miss George. He and I used to be best friends. We would tell each other everything. Now, he can't even look at me, let alone talk to me."

Mark tucked a strand of Izzie's hair behind her ear. "Derek and I used to do everything together when we were growing up. As we got older, our friendship only strengthened. When Derek married Addison and we started our internships, we didn't spend as much time together. But once a year, no matter what we were doing, the two of us would take a trip to the mountains."

"Mark, I…"

He placed his index finger on her lips, an indication that he wanted her to be quiet.

"That's what I keep thinking about. It lets me know that Derek and I will be friends again—eventually. The same thing will happen with you and George."

Mark always seemed to know exactly what to say to make her feel better. It was as if he could see directly into her head, zero in on what was eating away at her and pluck it out of her brain.

"So, I'll bring the tequila, you bring the brownie supplies."

Izzie smiled. "I wish I could. But I'm on-call tonight."

"Oh," he said, his eyes losing their gleam. "I thought you were on-call last week."

"I was. I told Christina that I would be on-call for her tonight. She has a hot date with the new pediatric surgeon."

"I thought she hated kids."

"That's why she's dating the doctor, not the patients. Besides, I think it's about time Christina got laid. She's been really cranky lately."

"She couldn't get Meredith to cover for her?"

"Meredith had more willpower."

"Can't you get out of this?"

Izzie shook her head. "Think about it like this. Not only am I helping Christina get laid tonight, I'm helping you get laid tonight as well."

"You know, having my girlfriend encourage me to have sex with other women is not a big a turn on as I thought it would be."

Izzie rolled her eyes. "I'm not your girlfriend," she said. "And if I was your girlfriend, helping you get laid would have a whole other meaning."

"Oh really," he said, his usual devilish smirk on his lips. "Perhaps you could help me with that." He leaned in to her and pressed his lips against hers. He gently pushed her down, her back pressing against the stiff mattress.

"We can't do this," she said as she pushed him away from her. "You know the rules."

"Shh," he whispered as he lowered her back onto the bed. "Somebody's coming." He kissed her again, his tongue sliding across her bottom lip.

Her body succumbed to his touch, her mouth opening to grant him access. She linked her hands behind his head, her fingers combing through his hair. She moaned as his fingers inched up her scrub top, his touch sending tiny shockwaves down her spine. The game that the two of them played was dangerous, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. They kissed, touched and stripped whenever they knew that someone was coming. They liked to see how far they could get before they were interrupted. The interloper always caught them before they got past the point of no return. Before Izzie had to put the breaks on to stop them from doing something she would later regret. Today was no exception.

Somebody jingled the doorknob. The same person opened the door and entered the room. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't realize that anybody was in here."

Mark stopped kissing her and lifted his head. He turned to face the intruder. "Well, we're in here. So if you don't mind." He shooed the woman away with his hands.

Izzie giggled.

"Stevens?" the voice said, a hint of anger seeping through her mouth.

Izzie froze, her fingers gripping Mark's shoulders. "Dr. Torres," she said as she scrambled to force Mark in front of her.

"Thanks to you," Callie replied. "Don't you have more important things to do? Lives to save. Interns to teach."

"Her surgery got out early. She had some free time."

"What'd you do? Kill another patient?"

"I…" Izzie was at a loss for words. Callie had every right to be angry with her. Izzie did sleep with her husband. She was the reason that Callie and George were getting a divorce. How could she defend herself?

"That was uncalled for," Mark said. "Izzie is an excellent doctor."

"But a terrible person," Callie said.

"No, she's not," Mark said quickly. "She's a wonderful person who made an awful mistake. It happens to the best of us."

For once, Izzie was grateful to have Mark on her side. Not only was his body shielding her from Callie's murderous stare and bone-crushing hands, but his words were blocking Callie's harsh comments.

"Shepherd needs a resident to scrub in on a craniotomy. I suggest you get up and do it."

Izzie didn't need to be told twice. She would have done anything to get out of that room. Pushing Mark out of her way, she got up and straightened her scrubs. "Thank you."

Callie shook her head. "I don't like you. You're a bitch that deserves to be alone. And the next time that your boyfriend isn't around to defend you, I'll make sure you know what being alone really feels like."

Today definitely sucked.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie took the scrub cap off of her head as she exited the O.R. Her day was finally starting to turn around. After her confrontation with Callie, she found Derek at the surgical board and asked him if he still needed a resident. He gladly accepted her, not once mentioning Mark and her inappropriate relationship with him. She assisted Doctor Shepherd with the surgery, blood rushing to her head as she did.

"Good job," Derek said. "You have a natural talent for neurosurgery. You should really consider it as your specialty. I would be thrilled to teach you."

"Thank you," she replied as she followed Derek to the stairwell. "But I've been seriously considering cardio. Dr. Hahn and I mesh well together."

"You should keep your options open. Just because you get along with somebody at first doesn't mean that it's going to last. The honeymoon period will eventually wear off and you'll be stuck with something that you really just don't want."

And just when she thought that her day was getting better. They had somehow stopped talking about her choosing a specialty and moved into the realm of her relationship with Mark. All of her friends had turned around and accepted Mark. She just wished that Derek would do the same.

"Mark's not that bad," she said as they stopped on the stairs. She turned to face Derek.

"That's not what I heard. He told me that the two of you were having some problems."

Nice. He was throwing a fake fight in her face. "He made it up to me. He apologized and is taking me out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Until he does something else to piss you off. He might apologize but he doesn't mean it."

Izzie shook her head. This was hopeless. Derek was so damn stubborn. It was no wonder that Derek and Meredith kept getting back together. He never gave up. But neither did Mark and neither did she.

"You should really give him a chance. He's been really good to me." That was only half a lie.

"You should dump him before he hurts you."

Izzie pinched the bridge of her nose. This conversation was going nowhere fast and she was starting to get a headache. "He might be an ass at times but he's still your friend. Perhaps you guys could take a trip up to the mountains?"

"He told you about that?"

She nodded her head. Maybe she finally got through to him.

"It's a shame I wasted so many years being friends with him. Those trips would have been so much better without him."

Maybe not.

"What the hell is your problem?" she screamed at him. "You guys used to the best of friends and now you're trying to erase years of memories away as if they meant nothing to you."

"Did you just seriously ask me that question? Have you met Mark? He slept with my wife."

"And I would understand your hatred of him if you were still married to Addison. But you're not. You're with Meredith. Someone who is not Addison. Someone who, I believe you have told everybody is the love of your life. Instead of being so angry at Mark, you should be thanking him. If it wasn't for him, you would still be married to Addison. You wouldn't have Meredith." Izzie shook her head. She knew how twisted her logic sounded but she didn't care. She rubbed her temples; the pounding in her head had intensified. "Good-bye Dr. Shepherd," she said as she pushed past him on her way back up the stairs.

"Izzie," somebody called behind her.

"What!" she screamed as she turned around.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it," Alex said as he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just having a really bad day."

He chewed his bottom lip. "So I guess asking you for a favor right now would be a bad idea."

"No, no. It's okay. I'm not mad at you. What do you need?"

"It's about Rebecca."

Maybe she should have said no. "What about her?"

"She feels left out of my life. More specifically, my friend's lives."

"And?" she questioned when Alex stopped talking.

"And I thought that we, meaning you, me, Christina and Meredith, could have a little get together with our significant others this Friday night." He gave her his best smile and the most pathetic eyes.

She gritted her teeth. "Fine. But I hold you solely responsible for everything that goes wrong."

He clapped his hands together. "Great. Now I was thinking that you could cook that really great chicken dish that you made a few weeks ago."

Izzie placed her hand on her head. She should have stayed home today.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark smiled as he finished filling out his last chart for the day. He closed the file. There was a light knock on the door to his office. "Come in," he said as he stood up.

"Your girlfriend is crazy," Derek said as he entered the room.

"What? Izzie isn't crazy just because she's going out with me."

"That's not what I meant. She yelled at me today. I mean, she really laid into me."

He should have gone after Izzie after Callie yelled at her. The words didn't sit well with him and he intended to tell Izzie that she would never be alone as long as he was around but Callie had stopped him from exiting the on-call room. Callie yelled at him for quite some time, explaining the many ways in which Izzie was a slut. By the time he got out of the room, a nurse informed him that Izzie was already scrubbing in on Derek's surgery and he had his own patients to worry about. Now Izzie had unleashed her anger on Derek. This was not good.

"I'm sorry," Mark said. "She's had a very bad day. Don't hold it against her."

"The thing is," Derek said. "Is that what she said made sense."

"What did she say?"

"I've been unfair to you. I'm holding a grudge against you when I should be trying to make amends."

Mark could kiss Izzie right now. The two of them have been working on Derek for three months and this was the first time that either one of them were able to get through to him. Who knew that all it took was a bad day and an angry blonde?

"So," Derek said. "What do you say we get a drink at Joe's after work today?"

"Sounds great." His day was certainly looking up.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark sat at a table at the Emerald City Bar. He sipped from the same scotch that he had ordered when he arrived. It had only been fifteen minutes and he had come ten minutes early, but he was still worried that Derek was going to stand him up yet again.

Somebody sat in the seat next to him. Somebody who had a curvaceous body, long dark hair, and mischief in her eyes. Somebody who was clearly not Derek.

"So Mark," she said as she placed her hand on his thigh. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"I'm meeting someone for drinks," he said as he removed her hand from his leg.

"It can't be Stevens," Callie said. "Somebody told me that she's on-call tonight."

"It's Derek. I'm meeting Derek."

"Oh." She licked her lips. "You and I should get together sometime. We had fun before; we could do it again."

"No."

She scooted the chair closer to him. She grabbed his hand and laid it over her heart. "You feel that?" she said. "That's what you do to me."

He yanked his hand away from her chest. Any other time he would have been flattered by her flirtation. Any other time he would have taken her up on her offer. But he had promised Izzie that he wouldn't sleep with anybody from the hospital and he would be damned if he was going to break that promise.

"She never has to know." She leaned in and kissed him. Her kisses weren't as sweet as Izzie's. While Izzie always tasted like cinnamon, Callie's kisses were salty.

He pushed her away. "Yes, she does. I mean that is your plan isn't it? You seduce me and then rub it in her face tomorrow morning. Show her what it feels like to be alone?"

"Nope. I just wanted to have some fun. I'm going to be a divorcee soon."

"I'm not going to let you hurt Izzie. Find somebody else to have your good time with."

She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. She stuck out her bottom lip. "She's a bitch. She doesn't deserve George's love. That's why we're getting a divorce you know. Not because he had sex with her but because he was…is… in love with her."

"That's not my problem," Mark said. "Your husband is an idiot. He blew it with Izzie and there is no way she's going to be with him. It's not my fault that he's still in love with her."

She started to laugh. There was no sweetness to it; only the acrimonious undertone that was distinctly a woman scorned. "She doesn't deserve you. She doesn't deserve anything."

That's where she was wrong. He was the one that didn't deserve Izzie. She was doing him this huge favor. A favor that had cost her a potential relationship with George. A favor that prevented her from dating any other guys.

"Go home," he said. "I'm not going to sleep with you. You might as well just leave."

"You know what?" she said. "I take back what I said. You two deserve each other." The door shook violently as she stormed out of the bar.

He downed the rest of his scotch before getting up and ordering another one from the bar.

"Sorry that I'm late," Derek said.

"What happened?"

"Meredith stopped me. She tried to convince me to go away with her on Friday."

"Tried?" Mark questioned. "Don't want to spend time alone with your girlfriend?"

"She was trying to get out of a dinner party. Apparently Alex asked her and Izzie to help him out. Alex's girlfriend was feeling left out of the dysfunction that is our lives."

He took a sip of his scotch. Yep, he definitely missed this.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Okay, I know that I said that it would be a few weeks before I updated this fic but I got some of the things done earlier than expected. I also didn't realize that Thanksgiving was this week and wanted to get something written before the holidays. And since it is Thanksgiving on Thursday, it will be a little while before the next chapter will be posted.

This chapter is another long one (Go me!) and is mostly filler and used to set up the next chapter. Thanks to those that have read and a special thanks to those that have taken the time to review.

Read & Review!


	11. Two Steps Back

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie took several glasses from the cupboard and handed them to Mark. Her hands trembled as she reached for more cups.

"It's going to be okay," Mark whispered into her ear, his hot breath sending a shiver down her spine.

"No, it's not." Ever since she had set foot through the doors of Seattle Grace, Izzie had come to believe in the notion that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Your boyfriend will cheat on you. The man you love who you risk everything for so that he can get a new heart will die anyway. You will sleep with your married best friend and only end up losing a friend instead of gaining a lover. And no matter what you do, there is no such thing as a perfect dinner party.

Mark placed his hands on Izzie's neck and started to rub the tiny knots that had formed. "Derek and I are on speaking terms again. This dinner party will be great and I will be out of your hair in a week."

Izzie turned around and shoved her finger in his face. "Don't you dare say that to me. The chicken is overcooked because Alex forgot to check on it when I asked him to. Christina's date canceled on her and she and Meredith are already getting drunk. And you do remember the last time that you and Derek had dinner with me and Meredith. That ended in disaster." The stiffness in her body moved from her neck and down into her shoulders.

"That was months ago. Things have changed. I promise to be on my best behavior and Derek will be a good boy too. Christina and Meredith are always getting drunk and the chicken still looks really good."

Izzie shook her head. "You are so naïve. The chicken may look good, but it is dry. Meredith and Christina tend to make scenes when they are drunk which only means that Derek will spend his entire time defending Meredith's behavior. That means that you have to keep your mouth shut so that Derek doesn't get pissed off at you." The tension slowly worked its way down her lower back.

He didn't say anything. He just stared at her, a stupid grin on his face.

"What?"

"You're really beautiful when you're angry."

"You are the worst fake boyfriend ever." Her shoes slapped against the tiled floor as she made her way toward the counter. "Here," she said as she shoved more glasses in his hands. "Go finish setting the table. And tell Alex to get his ass in here so he can help me salvage this dinner."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The party was going better than she expected. Everybody was getting along, talking about surgery and past relationships. Mark and Derek told stories of their youth, some funny, some sad. The food was good too. Izzie managed to save it with a trick she learned growing up in a trailer park—she could make anything taste good. But the change in her attitude had nothing to do with the ease with which everybody was talking to each other and everything to do with the slight buzz she was feeling from her third glass of wine.

She twirled the half-empty glass in her hand as Mark told them a story about Derek and a Halloween costume he wore as a child.

"I think everybody's been a bunny rabbit," Rebecca said.

"I wasn't," Meredith said.

"And he was a pink bunny. Pink!"

"Shut up," Derek said. "At least I didn't wear my underwear on the outside of my pants and call myself Superman."

Izzie giggled as she finished the rest of her wine. She grabbed the bottle of wine in front of her.

"Are you sure you should be drinking anymore?" Rebecca asked.

Izzie shook her head. Why the hell was she questioning her drinking habits? Meredith and Christina drank more than her. They didn't even start with the wine; they went straight for the good stuff. Izzie was barely intoxicated while the others were clearly wasted. She didn't say anything to Rebecca. She simply poured herself another glass of wine and took a sip.

"Dr. Stevens, I think you should stop drinking right now."

Who did this woman think she was? She had no right to judge her. Rebecca was a guest in her home at a dinner party that Rebecca's boyfriend had made her throw. Why wouldn't she be drinking? It was her only way to relieve her stress when she couldn't bake.

The others didn't come to her defense. Derek and Meredith pretended to be engaged in a heated conversation, Meredith's gaze shifting between the two women. Christina sipped her tequila, watching the argument unfold. Mark just sat there, shifting uncomfortably.

"I haven't had that much," Izzie said.

"I don't think that it's good for you," she replied. "Not in the condition you're in."

"Rebecca, leave Izzie alone," Alex said. "She's fine."

"No, you don't understand," she said. "Izzie's pregnant."

"Way to go," Christina said. "Ken got Barbie pregnant."

"Hey, don't look at me," Mark said. "If Izzie is pregnant, I'm not the father."

"No, that would be Alex, right Iz?" Meredith said. "He's the one you think about when you and McSteamy are doing it."

If there was ever a moment that ever required an escape plan, this was it. She could hear the rumors already. _Did you hear about Izzie Stevens? She's been having threesomes with Dr. Sloan and Dr. Karev and now she doesn't know who the father of her baby is. _This was going to be worse than when the news about her affair with George circulated around the hospital. She had to stop this before it got too far out of hand.

"I'm not pregnant."

Nobody answered her. They were all wrapped up in their own conversations. Meredith and Christina were discussing names they could call Izzie's baby. Rebecca and Alex were arguing over whether or not he was cheating on her with Izzie. Mark and Derek were yelling at each other about who knows what.

Standing up, Izzie slammed her fists against the table causing the dishes to jump and clatter. Her wine glass toppled over staining the pristine white table cloth an ugly shade of purple. "I'm NOT pregnant!" Izzie screamed at the dinner guests. "Not with Mark's child. Not with Alex's child. Not with anybody's child. I don't know why you think that I am pregnant, Rebecca. But I'm not."

"Don't accuse me of starting rumors," Rebecca said. "You're the one who told me that you and Dr. Sloan were going to have a baby."

Izzie opened her mouth to protest. There was no way that she would tell anybody that was pregnant, let alone Rebecca. She barely knew the woman. Even if it were true, why would she spill her secret to her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend? Where would she find the time and place to confide in her? Izzie snapped her mouth shut, a fuzzy memory forcing itself to the surface. Mark. Tequila. Muffins. Izzie sat back down and laid her head in her hands.

"It was a misunderstanding. Mark and I are not going to have a baby. Not now. Not ever."

"I'm glad to hear that," Derek said. "He wouldn't make a very good father."

Izzie instinctively grabbed Mark's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I think he would make a pretty terrific father."

"You brain washed her, didn't you?"

"What the hell has gotten in to you?" Mark asked. "I thought we were friends again."

Derek laughed, his tone anything but friendly. "That was before I remembered why we stopped being friends to begin with. You're a user of women."

It was the double date disaster all over again. Only this time there were no convenient exits she could leave through; she was already home. And this time there was a bigger audience. Alex shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his body poised to get up and run out of there. Rebecca tapped her foot against the floor, her eyes darting back and forth from Mark to Derek. Christina sat with her elbows on the table, a satisfied grin on her face. Meredith laid her head on the table, her eyes shut.

"I thought we've already been through this," Izzie said. "Mark is not using me."

"Yes, he is. You're just too stupid to realize it."

"STOP!" Meredith screamed as she lifted her head from the table. "Mark and Izzie's relationship is none of our business."

"Meredith, don't you care that you're friend is going to get hurt?"

"Why are you saying this? What makes you think that Mark is going to hurt me?"

"He refuses to take any responsibility. He didn't even acknowledge that the baby could have been his. He dismissed it right away."

Izzie shook her head. Of course he would deny being the father. It didn't take a doctor to know how babies were made and the two of them never did anything that would result in her being pregnant. She laughed. A fake baby for the all fake sex she was having in her fake relationship. But Derek didn't know any of that and she couldn't tell him either.

"She isn't pregnant," Mark said.

"It doesn't matter. She might have been. And you would have left her if she was. I stand by my words. You would make a terrible father. You're already a bad boyfriend."

She reached for Mark's hand again but he yanked it away before she touched him. She turned toward him. The light had disappeared from his eyes and he was chewing his bottom lip.

"How's Addison?" Izzie asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Derek responded.

"How's L.A.?"

Derek didn't say anything, his eyes shifting from Mark to her. "I wouldn't know."

"So you didn't go to L.A. last month to help Addison get pregnant?"

He remained silent. His eyes settled on Mark, two tiny slits.

"So next time you accuse Mark of being a bad boyfriend remember this. He didn't lie to me about visiting his mother in New York when he actually went to California to see his ex-wife."

"What is Izzie talking about?" Meredith asked.

Derek pointed a finger at Mark. "I can't believe you told her."

Everybody at the table started shouting at each other. Christina and Meredith yelled at Derek, accusing him of cheating. Derek continued to berate Mark, calling him a terrible friend. Rebecca got up and left causing Alex to scream at the entire group, telling them that they ruined his relationship.

Izzie stood up and went upstairs to her room. Falling face first onto her bed, her head slammed against the pillow. What in the world did she just do?

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie wasn't sure how long she had been lying on her bed before someone opened the door and entered her bedroom.

"If you wanted to spend more time with me, you could have just told me. You didn't have to ruin my friendship with Derek."

Izzie groaned as she flipped over on the bed. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Please don't be mad at me."

Mark sat down on the bed next to her and placed his hand on her thigh. "I'm not mad at you."

She sat up. "But I told everybody where Derek really went on his trip."

Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Thank you for that," he said. "Derek was being unreasonable and it's better that that came from you. That way, later on, he can forgive me. I'm not the one that destroyed his relationship with Meredith."

Izzie's head fell into her lap. "Is it really over between them? Did I ruin a relationship tonight?"

"No," he said. "You destroyed two. I don't think Rebecca wants anything to do with Alex or his crazy friends ever again."

"I'm horrible," she groaned. "I'm very good at ruining my friend's relationships. First George. Now Meredith and Alex. I'm sure Christina will find a way to blame me for her break up with Dr. Burke."

Mark rubbed her back. "It's not your fault."

She lifted her head off of her lap. "Yes it is. You should be mad at me. I also destroyed the progress you and Dr. Shepherd made this week."

Mark grabbed Izzie's chin and tilted her head toward him. "I could never be mad at you. You're my friend."

Izzie didn't say anything. She just stared at him, her mind trying to process what he had just said to her.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Izzie we are friends, right?"

Late night baking session. Conversations. The ability to make her feel better.

"Oh my god," Izzie said. "You're my new George."

"Did you just compare me to O'Malley? I like to think that I'm a little better than that."

Izzie shook her head. "No Mark, it's not like that. George was my best friend. He was the one person I could go to for comfort."

Mark smiled. "I guess that makes you my new Derek."

Izzie laughed. "I guess it does. But I'm not wearing a pink bunny suit."

Mark nudged Izzie's shoulder with his shoulder. "If I'm your new George, does that mean that if I get you drunk enough you'll sleep with me?"

"Only if you marry somebody I don't like first."

He tapped his finger on his chin. "Besides Callie, who don't you like? I think it would be rude of you to sleep with two of Callie's husbands."

Izzie pushed Mark's arm causing him to lean slightly to the left. "You are so bad. George was never like that."

"And you are a much better kisser than Derek," he said.

"Please tell me that you never kissed him. I don't think I could be friends with you if you kissed Meredith's boyfriend."

Mark laughed. "You are the only friend that I have ever kissed. Sisters and wives on the other hand…"

Izzie shook her head. Mark was so different than George. Physically, Mark was taller by at least six inches. His hair was lighter, his eyes bluer. But it was their personalities that really set them apart. Mark was more confident. He flirted way too much and he never backed down from a fight. George was kind. He laughed at all her jokes, no matter how corny they were. And though she would never admit it to Mark, Mark was a better kisser than George. George kissed like a chicken.

"What are you thinking about?" Mark asked.

"Do you think that after everything that has happened that you and Derek can really be friends again? That George and I can be friends again?"

"Derek and I have had worse fights than this. He forgave me for sleeping with his sister. He forgave me for sleeping with his wife. At least this time I didn't have sex with anyone."

"But," she began. "You guys only reconciled a few days ago. He still doesn't trust you."

"As long as he and Meredith make up with each other, he and I will be able to do so as well."

"How long do you think we'll still have to do this? I mean before you and Derek are friends to the point where every little thing you do doesn't piss him off."

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know. It could be a few months before we get to that point. It could be years if he and Meredith break up because of what was said tonight."

"Oh." She didn't want to do this for years.

"Derek loves Meredith too much to let her go that easily. And he didn't do anything with Addison in L.A. Give him a few days, he'll win her over. Then you and I can continue with Derek. We can't break up now. He'll think that I was using you."

"I know," she said. "What about George? Do you think he and I will get to that point ever again?"

"He's still in love with you. I don't think you guys can be friends if he still loves you."

George wasn't in love with her. He couldn't be. He took too long to tell his wife he was leaving her. He didn't believe her when she told him that she didn't sleep with Mark. He tried to rekindle his relationship with his wife. No, George wasn't in love with her. Mark had to be mistaken.

"Why do you say that?"

"Callie told me."

"Since when were the two of you friends?"

"We're not. She told me while she was seducing me at Joe's."

Why is this the first time that is hearing about this? Callie had no right to try and seduce her boyfriend, even if Mark was her pretend boyfriend.

"Nothing happened," he said. "I know the rules. Besides, she's not my type. I have a thing for blondes," he said as he winked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm still not going to sleep with you."

"You owe me," he pouted.

Izzie giggled when Meredith's headboard started banging against the wall. "I guess we don't have to worry about dragging this out for years."

"Too bad," he said. "I think I would have been able to wear you down if I had that much time."

Izzie grabbed Mark's hand. "Come on." She and Mark crawled to the top of the bed. She started banging her headboard against the wall. "Let's give them a run for their money."

He laughed as he helped her bang the headboard against the wall.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I should really stop telling you guys that I'm not going to update for a while. But... I really do have plans for Thanksgiving so it probably will be some time next week before I'm able to update again. Until then... Happy Thanksgiving.

I feel the need to apologize to everyone that liked the idea that Mark and Derek were friends again. This is how I intended the chapters to go. But look at it this way. If Mark and Derek were friends again, Mark and Izzie would be over in a week. They need more time, so Mark and Derek will have to wait.

Thanks to those of you that have read and a special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review.

And as always, Read & Review.


	12. Happy Alex Likes Happy Izzie

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie stood in the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest. The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to suppress the smile from forming on her face. Mark was in front of her. He held a movie in one hand, the other combing through his hair.

"Are you serious?" Izzie asked.

Mark nodded his head.

She couldn't stop the smile on her face from turning into a full blown grin. "And you want to be friends with him again? Why?"

"It's not that bad Izzie." Mark set the DVD down on the counter.

"Yes. It is."

He threw his hands up in the air. "You're right Izzie. I should just cut my losses and start over. I need to find new friends. Derek is obviously defective."

Izzie laughed. "Defective? The guy is seriously disturbed. How the hell were you friends with him for so long when you knew this about him?"

Mark shook his head. "It used to drive me and Addison crazy. He would make us watch the movie whenever we hung out together. But he loves it."

Izzie shook her head. "Fine. I'll do it. But you so owe me." She grabbed the movie off of the counter and walked toward the living room. Stopping at the kitchen door, she turned around to face Mark. "_Sweet Home Alabama. Sweet Home Alabama_. I can't believe that Derek's favorite movie is freaking _Sweet Home Alabama_."

Mark put his arms up in defense. "Hey, don't look at me. I personally never got the movie. He finds it charming."

Izzie smiled, just another reason why she liked Mark. She had hated the movie the first time she saw it. She never understood why Melanie chose to stay with her husband instead of marrying the new guy. Andrew never did anything wrong and yet she dumped him for the man who disappointed her years earlier. Izzie never would have done that. She would have stuck with the man that loved her, not the one that broke her heart. She shook the thought from her head, the DVD tight within her grasp.

She pushed the door open. Derek and Meredith were snuggled on the couch together watching some documentary about the brain.

"Um… is this almost over?"

Meredith looked up. "We've already seen this twice. Why? Is there something you wanted to watch?"

Izzie bit her lip and looked at the movie in her hands. She didn't want to do this. She just did not dislike the film, she hated _Sweet Home Alabama_. She started to walk back to the kitchen; tell Mark that she wasn't going to do this. She took two steps before she stopped herself. She couldn't do that. After the dinner party the month before, Mark and Derek's friendship had hit a plateau. Derek no longer made his underhanded comments toward Mark. He didn't yell at him or argue either. The two of them just stopped talking to each other. The only comforting thought about the whole thing was that the other relationships that were affected that evening had strengthened. Meredith and Derek made up and were stronger than ever. Alex convinced Rebecca that the party was just an anomaly and his friends were actually nice people. She forgave him and now Alex was talking about commitment and moving out of Meredith's house. Her friendship with Mark had strengthened as well. They did less drinking and more baking, both opening up about past mistakes. She told him about Denny, breaking down in his arms as she explained the circumstances surrounding his life and his death. He told her about Lucy, his college sweetheart that had manipulated him to the point of insanity. But his friendship with Derek was stalled and this was their last ditch effort to get it started again.

"Did you guys want to watch a movie?"

Meredith made a face. "No offence Iz, but your taste in movies sucks."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does. Remember _Under the Tuscan Sun_? Worst. Movie. Ever."

Izzie rolled her eyes. Meredith hated chick flicks. It was part of her dark and twisty attitude that made her dislike anything that ended happy.

"Ignore her," Derek said. "What's the movie?"

"_Sweet Home Alabama_."

Derek's eyes lit up, a huge smile on his lips. "Seriously?"

Izzie held up the DVD case.

"No way," Meredith replied.

"That's okay," Izzie said. "Mark and I are going to watch it anyway. If you don't want to, you guys can do something else."

Derek's smile grew wider. "You're making Mark watch this movie?"

She nodded. This might just work after all.

"Come on Meredith. Let's just watch the movie. It's not that bad."

Meredith groaned. "Fine. But you have to make it up to me later. In bed."

"O...K," Izzie said. "I'm going to get Mark now. Why don't you put the movie in?"

Derek took the DVD from her and turned to go put it in the DVD player.

Izzie went to the kitchen. Mark was near the door.

"So? Did it work?"

"Yes," she sighed. "But I have no intention of actually watching this movie."

"Izzie, I don't think Derek's going to want to watch it with just me there. You have to watch it."

"No. I don't. I just need to be in the same room. I am very tired and I am going to sleep. You will not wake me when I fall asleep."

Mark smiled. "Only if you don't wake me up if I fall asleep."

"I am so going to wake you up. But only because you and Derek need to talk."

He nodded his head. "Okay." He grabbed her arm and led her to the living room. Meredith and Derek had already settled themselves on the left side of the couch. Mark sat down on the other side of the sofa, Izzie right next to him. Derek pressed play on the remote and the movie started. Andrew was proposing to Melanie when Izzie laid her head on Mark's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Izzie jumped when somebody slammed the front door. She blinked, her eyes focusing on her surroundings. The movie was half over, Lucas and Melanie fighting about something. Alex was in the foyer, furiously tearing off his coat.

"Geez, Alex. What the hell is your problem?" Meredith said.

"Bite me," he said as he threw his keys on a nearby table. He stomped up the stairs and slammed the door to his room.

"What happened?" Izzie questioned Mark. Did she miss something when she fell asleep? She had never seen Alex that angry before.

Mark shrugged his shoulder. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I'm going to go check on him," she said as she got up from the couch. She cracked her neck, sore from having fallen asleep on Mark.

"Do you want me to stop the movie?" Derek said.

"No. It's okay."

"I'm going to pause the movie."

Damn. She walked upstairs and lightly knocked on Alex's door. "Can I come in?"

"NO!"

She opened the door anyway. "What's wrong?"

Alex was on his bed, a pillow over his face. He didn't say anything. He didn't move.

Izzie sat down on the bed next to him. Alex had been out on a date with Rebecca that evening. He spent the entire day bragging about it. He had planned everything perfectly. He made reservations at Marinelli's, an expensive Italian restaurant in the Seattle area and Rebecca's favorite. He ordered a bouquet of purple lilies, also her favorite. He was going to ask her to move in with him. But as Alex threw the pillow against the wall, Izzie knew that the answer wasn't the one that he had wanted.

Izzie placed her hand on Alex's shoulder. "I'm sorry Alex."

"She dumped me. She said that she missed her kid. She went back to her husband." He laid his head in his hands. "I'm an idiot."

"She's the idiot," Izzie replied. "You're a really great guy."

Alex pushed Izzie away. "Stop it, okay. I'm not one of your chick friends that get over things by eating a gallon of ice cream and crying about how my girlfriend broke my heart."

Izzie raised an eyebrow. That was not the reaction she was waiting for. He was supposed to thank her; tell her that she was right and say that there were other fish in the sea. Blah. Blah. Blah. She had never seen him like this. She didn't know how to fix him. What would Mark do in this situation? Izzie smiled. She grabbed Alex's arm and yanked him off of his bed. "Let's go," she said.

"Where are we going?" he asked as she dragged him out of his room and down the stairs.

She stopped in the living room, the others still on the couch, looking at her.

"Meredith, let's go."

"What's going on?" Meredith asked.

"We are going to Joe's," she said.

"Um…why?"

"So that we can get Alex drunk and then get him laid." Izzie grabbed Meredith's arm and pushed her roommates out the door.

"What about the movie?" Derek asked.

She turned around. Mark and Derek remained seated on the couch, both still staring at her.

"Watch it without me," she said. She exited the house and locked the front door. Nothing like killing two birds with one stone.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie sat on a stool at the bar sipping the same beer she had ordered an hour ago. Meredith was next to her, already on her third beer. Alex was at a table by himself, checking out prospective women.

"Why exactly are we doing this again?" Meredith asked as she picked at the corners of the label on her bottle.

"Because Alex is our friend and he is in pain."

"But why are we here? Why didn't you send Alex out with Mark or something?"

Izzie laughed. "Because Mark would have spent the entire night trying to find a woman for himself instead of helping Alex."

Meredith stopped peeling the label off her beer. "Do you really think that Mark would cheat on you?"

Izzie took a swig of her beer. Why did she say that? If Mark were here, of course he would be flirting with other women. That's what Mark did. But Meredith would never understand why Izzie let him do it.

"Izzie?" Meredith said. "Why don't you trust Mark?"

"I trust him," she said. She trusted him more than she had ever trusted anybody. She told him things that she had never told anyone before, not even George. But that didn't change the fact that Mark was having sex with other women. It didn't change the fact that he really wasn't her boyfriend.

"Then why do you think he will cheat on you?"

"We don't have that kind of relationship. We're not that serious."

Meredith raised an eyebrow. "Not serious?" She shook her head. "You are either in denial or really stupid."

Izzie took another gulp of her beer, finishing it. "Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you think Mark would have willingly watched _Sweet Home Alabama_if he didn't care about you? If he wasn't serious about you?"

The only thing Mark was serious about was reconciling with Derek. She just happened to be the person that linked the two men together.

"Mark likes sex," Izzie said.

"Mark likes sex with you. That must mean something."

Izzie bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing. If Meredith only knew.

"Are you and Mark still having problems in bed? Is that it? Is that why you think he'll seek other women?"

Izzie grabbed the untouched beer that Joe left on the bar in front of her. She drank half of it in one gulp. She was not having this conversation. It had taken her three weeks to convince everybody that she had said those things to Mark because she was angry at him and wanted to hurt him. She told her friends that she knew they were there and that they would tell everybody what she had said. The last thing she needed were more rumors floating around the hospital about her non-existent sex life.

"Mark and I are fine. The sex is great." She took another long swallow from her beer. "Really, really great. Best I've ever had."

"I don't get it."

Izzie finished her beer. "What?"

"You and Mark. I thought I did. But now I'm not so sure."

What's not to get? She and Mark were friends who occasionally made out because they were pretending to be in a relationship so that Mark and Derek could be friends again.

"How's everything with Derek?"

"We're fine," Meredith said. "As long I don't mention Addison and he doesn't say anything about Mark."

So much for trying to change the subject. Izzie motioned for Joe to give her another beer. "I understand Addison. But Mark? Why would you care what Derek says about him?"

"After that night. You know the one."

Of course she knew the night. It was the one that she was one week away from getting rid of Mark as her boyfriend. If she would have kept her mouth shut, she would be single right now instead of having this conversation about her fake boyfriend.

Izzie downed the entire bottle of beer. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Meredith shrugged her shoulders. "Derek was the one that lied." She took a sip of her beer. "I was convinced that Addison was trying to get him back. And he was convinced that Mark was using you."

Izzie grabbed another beer. She needed to be drunk for this.

"He insisted that Addison had moved on and I insisted that Mark cares about you. We decided that it would be easier to agree to disagree than fight about it. Now I'm thinking that maybe Derek was right. Maybe Mark is using you."

Izzie took a sip of her beer. "Why do you care? Whatever is going on between me and Mark shouldn't be your problem."

Meredith took Izzie's beer away from her and set it on the bar. She took Izzie's hand and looked into her eyes. "You're my friend Izzie. You've been through so much this last year."

Izzie pulled her hands away and reached for her beer. The glass was cool against her lips, contrasting the warm liquid as it slid down her throat.

"Alex," Meredith said as she pointed to him.

Izzie turned. He was still at the table, a young brunette caressing his cheek. "What about him?"

"He hurt you."

"I'm over that. We're friends now. That's why I'm here. I care about him."

"Maybe. But then there was Denny."

Izzie wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "Meredith." Why was she bringing this up now? They were supposed to be discussing Mark.

"You were devastated after he died. I lied on the bathroom floor with you. I don't want to ever do that again."

"You won't have to," Izzie said as she took another sip.

"I hope not. But after George..." Meredith sighed. You lost your best friend, Iz. You haven't spoken to him since that night."

"I know that," she said, her voice raising more than she intended it to.

"But now you're with Mark. At first I was worried. I thought he would hurt you, just like Derek said he would. I thought he would break your heart and I would have to pull you off the bathroom floor again. But I've seen the two of you together. Derek is wrong. Mark won't hurt you. At least that's what I thought."

Izzie set her beer on the bar. "Meredith, Mark is not going to hurt me."

"Then what is going on between the two of you?"

Izzie took a deep breath. How the hell was she going to explain this? She chewed her bottom lip. "Mark and I are having casual sex."

"You're not the kind of person who has casual sex Izzie. I should know; I am the type of person who has casual sex. And someone who has sex with somebody exclusively with one person for four months is in a relationship."

Izzie could kill Mark right now. It was his fault that she was sitting here trying to define a fake relationship to her friend. She picked up her beer. No, tonight she would get drunk; tomorrow she would kill Mark.

"At first it was about sex," Izzie said. "That's what I needed after everything fell apart with George. Now, I really enjoy Mark's company. He's a lot better once you get to know him."

"So you do care about each other?"

Izzie picked up another bottle of beer. Why didn't Meredith just let this go?

"You don't have to worry about me Meredith. I knew what I was getting into when I got involved with Mark. His reputation is well known. I know about Addison and Callie and half the female staff at the hospital. Even though I may like spending time with him, I'm not going to fall for him and get my heart broken."

"Izzie…"

"I haven't lost sight of the fact that he is still Mark Sloan and one woman will never be enough for him."

Meredith laughed. "This is the same argument that Derek and I keep having. He doesn't think that Mark is capable of being in a long term relationship with one woman. But you're both wrong. Mark is committed to you. He cares about you. He's in it for the long haul."

Izzie shook her head. Mark was committed to Derek, not her. She and Mark may spend a lot of time together but in the end, Mark was still Mark and once this arrangement was over, he would go back to his former ways with multiple women. "Mark likes sex and when I stop giving him what he wants, he's going to find it somewhere else."

"Then why are you still with him?"

Because he and Derek still aren't friends. "Because right now things are good between the two of us so why should I end it?"

"I think it's because you like him."

Izzie sipped her beer. She did like Mark, but not the way that Meredith was implying.

"And you know what else? I think Mark likes you too. And not just for the sex, but for you."

Izzie took another large gulp of her beer. Mark did like her; he's told her that on more than one occasion. But they were friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I think you need to stay out of my sex life. Mark and I are currently having monogamous sex with each other. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Don't kid yourself Izzie; you don't have sex with someone unless you feel something for him. It's not your style."

Izzie finished her beer and set the empty bottle on the bar. It must be a good thing that she wasn't having sex with Mark then.

"Why can't you just admit that you and Mark are in a normal relationship and that the two of you care about each other?"

There was nothing normal about their relationship. "I care about Mark, but we're not going to fall in love and get married and have kids. We're just having fun with each other."

"Damn it Iz, you sound like me before I met Derek. Now look at me."

Izzie slammed her head on the bar. She needed to break up with Mark. The fake relationship was going on for too long and her friends were starting to question her reasons for staying with Mark. She would go home tonight and tell him that it wasn't working. He would have to find another way to get Derek back.

"Iz, if you're worried that Mark is going to hurt you, don't be. He cares about you more than you think he does."

Izzie lifted her head off the bar and signaled Joe for another beer. Mark didn't care about her, not like that at least. They had promised each other that they wouldn't fall in love with each other. Izzie knew that she could never fall in love with a man like Mark Sloan. No matter how charming and vulnerable he was with her, he still liked sex and was having it with other women. And Mark would never fall for her because he was Mark and he didn't fall in love with women.

"When did you become so bright and shiny?"

"When Derek and I got back together this last time, I promised myself that I wouldn't do anything to screw it up. I love him and I really want our relationship to work."

"That's great," Izzie said as Christina sat down next to Meredith. Izzie turned around. Alex was alone at his table. The brunette was with another man, her arms around his neck, kissing him.

"I'm going to go check on Alex," Izzie said. "Meredith, do me a favor. Don't tell Derek what I said tonight. I don't want it to affect his relationship with Mark. Mark is trying to fix their friendship and after everything that happened at the dinner party, I don't want to ruin any more progress that the two of them have made."

Meredith smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to tell Derek about your interpretation of your relationship with Mark. I've seen the way that Mark looks at you. He isn't going to hurt you. He isn't going to sleep with anybody else. So, there really isn't anything to tell Derek."

Izzie chose to ignore that. Mark didn't look at her in a special way. Meredith only saw what she wanted to see and she wasn't interested in having another long discussion about the status of a non-existent relationship. Izzie stood up, her head pounding against her skull. She placed her hand against her head as the room began to spin. She grabbed her beer and wobbled to where Alex was sitting alone at his table. "Hey," she whispered into his ear. "Want to get lucky tonight?" She sat down in the chair opposite him and placed her beer on the table in front of her.

Alex smirked as he lifted his beer to his lips. He took a quick swallow before he put the bottle down and shook his head. "I thought I was the one who was supposed to get drunk and get laid tonight."

Izzie laughed. "Then why…" she pointed toward the brunette that was with Alex earlier in the evening… "Is she over there with some other guy?"

Alex's eyes darkened, his entire body slumping against the chair. "I told her about Rebecca. She got bored and moved on to somebody else."

"You know, the whole point of this evening is to forget about what's her name."

Shrugging his shoulders, he took another swig of his beer. "I can't. I miss her already."

Izzie reached across the table and placed her hand over Alex's. "I'm sorry that she hurt you Alex. I know how much you loved her."

Alex gave her a weak smile. "It's not the first time that I got my heart broken."

Izzie raised an eyebrow. Alex usually didn't discuss his feelings with her. Or anybody else for that matter. Rebecca must have really had an affect on him. "Um… what happened?"

"She fell in love with a heart patient." He looked up and stared into her eyes.

Pulling her hand away from his grasp, she shivered, the hair all over body standing on end. "I'm sorry," she whispered as a single tear cascaded down her cheek. "I never meant to hurt you."

Alex leaned over the table and wiped the tear away with the back of his thumb. "I never meant to hurt you either," he said. "But we did." He sat back in his chair and picked up his beer. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't cheated on you." He sipped his beer.

She sometimes wondered the same thing. Her life would have been so much better. She wouldn't have fallen for Denny that was for sure. She wouldn't have slept with George and the two of them would be friends right now. And she never would have been in the position to accept Mark's plan. She sighed as she picked up her bottle. She took a sip and smiled when Lexie Grey entered the bar.

"What about her?" she said as she pointed at Lexie.

Lexie sat down at a table. She brushed her fingers through her short brown hair. She looked at her watch as she started picking at the peanuts from the basket in front of her.

"Lexie? I don't think Meredith would like it very much if I used her sister to get over my ex-girlfriend."

"Why not? It's not like the two of them are close. Besides," Izzie pointed to Meredith. She was at the door leaning on Christina. "She's leaving."

"Lexie is hot," Alex said.

"And I'm sure she would love to hear your sob story."

"I think she already has somebody else's sob story to listen to."

Izzie turned around and gasped. George was standing next to Lexie's table. She stood up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She sat back down as he took the chair next to her. She laughed at something he said, her hand softly caressing his hand. Izzie turned back around, her eyelashes coated with unshed tears. He had moved on. George had already moved on. It wasn't fair.

"Izzie," Alex's voice broke through her thoughts. "Does that bother you?"

Izzie wiped the tears from her eyes. She grabbed her beer and finished it before she responded. "Why is he with her?" she slurred. "It's only been a month since Callie filed for divorce. It's only been four months since he dumped me. He isn't supposed to move on."

Alex reached across the table and took her hand in his. "You do realize that you started dating Dr. Sloan the same day that George broke up with you. Hell, you guys were together before you and George were officially over."

Izzie pulled her hand back. "I need something stronger." She stood up and walked to the bar, avoiding George and Lexie as she did. She ordered a chocolate cake shooter. She swallowed it in one gulp, the hazelnut liqueur masking the bitterness of the vodka. She ordered four more and walked back to Alex. She put two of them in front of Alex and the other two in front of her. "Here's to George repeating his internship." Throwing back her head, she downed one shot after another.

"He never would have made you happy. He's too weak."

Izzie shook her head. "We would have been very happy. And he's not weak."

"Yes, he is. O'Malley wouldn't have known what to do with a woman like you. You're a strong, independent and very opinionated woman. You need a man that keeps you on your toes. Somebody like me." He winked at her.

"George could have kept me on my toes."

Alex laughed. "He couldn't handle Callie. He definitely never would have been able to handle you." He drank his first shot, his face contorting into an ugly grimace. He pushed the other shot in front of Izzie. "That was gross."

"Why did he move on so soon? You didn't move on so soon after we broke up, did you?" She picked up the shot and drank it quickly.

Alex shook his head. "Nope. I waited five months after we broke up before I started dating Rebecca."

"See Alex. That's why I like you best." She hiccupped, the alcohol threatening to come back up.

"Better than George?"

Izzie nodded her head. She scooted her chair closer to Alex and placed her hand on his thigh. "I've already told you that you're better than George. You've always known how to satisfy me."

Alex grabbed Izzie's hand and put it on the table. "If you and O'Malley were dating right now, I would be taking you up on your offer right now."

"Would it be only if I was with George? What if I were single?"

"I would be all over you if you were single. I would be all over you if you were dating anybody but Sloan."

Izzie laughed. The thought that Mark would care about who she slept with was ridiculous. The arrangement of their relationship allowed them to both have sex with whoever they pleased. Sure, Alex worked at the hospital and fell under the category of off-limits, but it wasn't like she and Mark discussed who they were sleeping with. Or rather, who he was sleeping with because she didn't need to have sex as often as he did.

"Are you afraid of Mark?" she said through her alcohol induced haze, the ability to form coherent thoughts slowly disappearing.

"A little," he admitted. "But that's not why I'm not going to take advantage of your drunkenness tonight."

"Why not?"

"Two reasons. Mark is an excellent plastic surgeon, one of the best in the country and I respect that. I would never do anything to disrespect him, especially sleep with his girlfriend."

Izzie raised an eyebrow. Addison. Coffee. Since when did Alex care about respecting anything that had to do with Mark? Ever since Mark relegated Alex to errand boy as an intern, the two of them didn't exactly get along. Either Alex had changed or Mark had. Izzie suspected that it was probably a little bit of both of them.

"You said two reasons. What's the other one?"

Alex smiled. "He makes you happy. Even if you're having one of those horrendous days, he still has the ability to make you smile. I can't compete with that. And Alex likes it when Izzie is happy."

"And Izzie likes it when Alex is happy. But Alex isn't happy."

"No, he's not." Alex stood up and went to the bar. He came back a few minutes later with several shots. "Here's to getting dumped." He lifted one of the shot glasses and consumed the amber colored liquid.

Izzie picked up one of the shots. She threw back her head and swallowed the bitter liquid. She slammed the shot glass against the table, the glass cracking against the wood. She picked up another shot and drank it just as quickly as the first. She slammed the glass against the table next to the other one.

"What can Izzie do to make Alex happy again?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Can you make my heart stop hurting?"

Izzie tapped her finger against her lip. She stood up; her legs were jell-o as she walked the short distance to Alex. She grabbed his hands and forced him to stand up with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly on his lips.

He pushed her away. "Iz, what are you doing?"

"Shh," she whispered. "Just go with it." She cradled his face with her hands and brought his face to hers. Her lips lightly brushed against his, her fingers inching to the back of his head. Pulling his head closer to her, she deepened the kiss, their tongues dueling for control. All thoughts of Lexie and George left her mind. Alex groaned as his fingers dug into her back. This was great yet something didn't feel quite right. Mark. Opening her eyes, Izzie ended the kiss. She looked around the bar. Nobody was looking at them, judging her for kissing one man when she was supposed to be dating another. There were no nurses. There were no interns. George and Lexie were too engrossed with each other to notice anything. Focusing her attention back on Alex, Izzie placed her hand on his cheek. "Now Rebecca isn't the last woman that kissed you."

Alex smiled at her. "Thanks Iz."

Izzie nodded. Her fingers lingered on his cheek for a few more seconds before she pulled away. She walked back to her seat, her body swaying as the alcohol began to overtake her body. She took one more step, her legs buckling beneath her. Alex wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her. She leaned against his body, her brain pulsating within her skull. Everything was fuzzy, nothing making sense, the entire room spinning.

"I think we should get you home," he said.

She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Okay."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Alex unlocked the front door and pushed Izzie inside. Izzie hit her knee against the table, knocking something to the floor. She giggled and turned to face Alex. "Shh," she whispered as she placed her index finger against her lips. She giggled again. "We don't want to wake up mom and dad." Izzie took another step. Tripping over her own feet, she crashed to the floor, her knees throbbing as she tried to stand back up.

"Let me help you," Alex said. He bent down and wrapped his arms around her waist. He helped her stand up. Using his muscular body for support, he led her upstairs. Stopping at her bedroom, he opened it and pushed her inside. "Get some sleep." He closed the door behind him.

Izzie wobbled to her bed, stopping when she saw a large form beneath her covers. Mark was asleep; his body sprawled over her entire bed. Sighing, Izzie made the daunting journey back to the door, being careful to fall back on the floor. Groping the hallway, she inched against the wall until her hand made contact with the door to Alex's room. Without knocking, she opened it.

Alex was in the corner of his room, his pants pooled around his feet, his arms over his head as he pulled his shirt off. "Geez, Izzie," he said as he turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"Mark is in my bed."

"So?"

"I didn't want to wake him," she replied as she crawled into Alex's bed. She sighed as her head made contact with the soft pillow.

Alex got into the bed next to her. "Get out."

She turned around to face him. "I promised that I would get you laid tonight." She traced lazy circles on his chest.

He pushed her hand away from him. "I'm not going to have sex with you while your boyfriend is in the next room."

Turning back around, Izzie closed her eyes. "Your loss."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie's head was pounding as she opened her eyes the next morning. Groaning, she stretched her arms, her hand coming into contact with a muscular chest. She placed her hand against her temples, trying to remember the previous night's activities. There was a movie. There was Mark. There was Alex. There was Meredith. There was alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. The memory started to get fuzzy. There was George and Lexie. There was Alex again. Alex, that's who was behind her. She turned around. Alex's eyes were closed, his hair rumpled against the pillow. Izzie looked beneath the covers. She still had the clothes on that she had worn the day before. Hopefully, that meant that she didn't have sex with him last night. Twisting her body, she threw her legs over the side of the bed. She rubbed the side of her head, her headache becoming more painful as the light reached her eyes. She got up slowly and walked to the door, each step like a chainsaw ripping through her brain. Her fingers gripped the doorknob as her stomach started to churn. She opened the door quickly.

She started to run toward the bathroom, her stomach slowly threatening to empty itself on the floor, but she stopped herself when her eyes made contact with somebody's feet. Slowly, her eyes moved up. His body was rigid, his hands tightly clenched. Her eyes remained fixated on his face. His mouth moved back and forth as he ground his teeth, his eyes staring directly back at her. She took a step back, her body pressed against the door to Alex's room. He never took his eyes off of her and he didn't open his mouth. The crestfallen expression on Mark's face said it all.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Go on. Tell me how much you hate me. I dare you.

Wow! This is the longest chapter that I've ever written. But it has a lot of good stuff. I know I've said this before, but I've got things to do and I'm not sure how long it's going to take to get it done so it may be some time before I get the next chapter written.

Thanks to everyone that has read it and a special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review.

Read & Review!


	13. Anybody But Him

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark sat at a table in the cafeteria of Seattle Grace. Everybody was staring at him, gossiping, telling their twisted little stories about Alex and Izzie. They gave him their pitying looks; the kind that said that he was about to get dumped. He had heard about the kiss. Not from Izzie, but from a nurse who had witnessed it. She came to him, assuming that he and Izzie had broken up, offering her condolences and a body to keep him warm now that he was available. She wasn't the only one. Others soon followed, each with their own spin on the kiss. Some said that Alex had initiated it, others said it was Izzie. Some described it as a quick peck, the kind shared between old friends. Others illustrated it as a kiss between lovers, complete with tongues and soft moans. Even George came up to him in all his gloating glory and told him that he'd rather see Izzie with Alex than him. But none of that mattered. They were just words that when taken together, painted the terrible picture of a cheating girlfriend. He could live with that. What he couldn't live with was far worse. The image had been permanently etched into his brain. It kept him awake at night because it was all he could see whenever he closed his eyes. Izzie coming out of Alex's room, her hair matted against her face, her clothes rumpled. But it was the look on her face that haunted him. Not one of guilt, but one of innocence, like she had done absolutely nothing wrong. He would have been able to accept that nothing had happened between the two of them if it hadn't been for rumors about that damn kiss. No, that look of innocence on her face wasn't because she had done nothing wrong; it was there because she thought she had done nothing wrong. That having sex with Alex Karev while he slept in her room, worried when Meredith came home without her, was the right thing to do.

He had wanted to talk to her that morning, demand answers after he caught her sneaking out of Alex's room. But she had run. She ran right past him and straight into the bathroom, sick from a night of too much alcohol and sex. He wanted to stay, question her over breakfast, but he had an early surgery scheduled for that morning. And then he learned about that damn kiss. And he didn't want to know what had happened the night before. And so for three days he tortured himself with thoughts of Alex and Izzie and Addison and closed doors. It didn't help it that whenever he built up enough nerve to confront her, to accuse her of breaking one of the rules she herself had set up, he was with her. Alex Karev in all his cockiness, touching her, making her laugh. And whenever Alex would catch Mark staring at them, he would pull Izzie into a hug and smirk at him. Mark never wanted to wipe that smug smirk off of anybody's face more than he wanted to Karev; to take a scalpel and carve a permanent frown over his features. But he didn't, no matter how much satisfaction it would have given him to see the younger man suffer. Not because he was the better man or because he wanted to become a better man, but because he couldn't bear to see the disappointment etched across Izzie's features as he pummeled Karev. Because Izzie was Mark's friend. Because Alex was Izzie's friend.

Mark took a bite of his turkey sandwich. The turkey was dry, the bread stale, and the whole thing tasted like cardboard. But everything tasted like cardboard to him lately, nothing seemed to satisfy him anymore. He dropped the sandwich against the plastic wrapper, the only sustenance he had been able to tolerate all day. His stomach was twisted up in knots as memories of Addison stepping out of a supply closet with Alex mingled with Izzie. He stood up and threw the uneaten food in the garbage. He had to get out of there, away from the stares and suppositions.

Mark's eyes scanned the crowded cafeteria before landing on the one person he was able to talk to. At least, he had been able to talk to him at one point in his life. Derek. Derek was reading a patient's chart, a half-eaten sandwich on the table in front of him. Mark plopped himself down in the chair next to him.

Derek didn't look up from his file. "That's Meredith's seat."

"They're sleeping together, aren't they?"

"Excuse me?"

"Karev and Izzie. They're sleeping together," Mark said.

Derek closed the chart and placed it on the table. He smiled at Mark. "Yep. Everyday. They don't even try to hide it. They go to her room, close the door and don't come out for hours. And judging from the amount of noise coming from her room at night, he satisfies her more than you ever could. And she's a whole lot happier now that you're not dragging her down. Lord knows, I'm happier now that I don't have to stare at your ugly mug at breakfast anymore."

But Mark wasn't listening anymore. Images of Izzie coming out of Alex's room were replaced by her sprawled across her bed, her hair splayed on her pillow, Alex's form hovering above her. Her face contorted, her eyes darkening as she cried out Alex's name in pleasure.

Mark slammed his fist against the table knocking over Derek's bottle of water. No! Alex didn't deserve her. He screwed up; he cheated on her. He wasn't good enough for her in all his arrogance and selfishness. Alex was the reason that he and Addison weren't together. He had slept with Addison and then she left. Because she had sex with Karev and then he rejected her. He would be damned if he let Alex do the same thing to Izzie.

"Oh my god," Derek said.

Mark didn't say anything. He didn't want to listen to Derek gloat about how he had slept with his wife and now his girlfriend was cheating on him. That he deserved this silent torture he had been putting himself through for the last three days.

"You really care about her, don't you? I mean… wow… who would have thought?"

Mark glared at Derek. "Of course I care about her. She's my girlfriend."

"I know that. But it's not like you guys actually do anything together. I mean, I know you guys talk about going out, but I don't think I've ever seen the two of you go out on a date by yourselves. And when you two are alone, it's usually in an on-call room or her room. I just figured the only thing you guys did together was have sex." Derek shook his head and laughed. "You've got it bad."

Mark's head dropped into his hands, the knot in his stomach becoming tighter. He failed to see the humor in this situation. His life was slowly unraveling. He had lost Addison. He had lost Derek. And now he had lost Izzie.

"They're not sleeping together. They go to their separate bedrooms at night and sleep alone. Izzie and Alex are just friends."

Mark raised his head, the air suddenly not so stuffy, and his stomach no longer churning. "Are you sure?"

Derek nodded his head. "Yeah. They spend most of their time in the kitchen. And judging from the amount of baked goods that are currently lining the counters of Meredith's kitchen; they're not having sex in there."

Mark's heart began to beat faster, the knot reforming in his stomach, becoming even tighter than before. Baking was their thing. Not George's. Not Meredith's. And certainly not Alex Karev's. It was the one thing that brought them closer together. They had bonded over brownies, forming a friendship, establishing a deep connection that he thought would last forever. But now Alex Karev had gotten in the way. He had wormed his way into Izzie's life, telling her some sob story about his broken heart. And now she was baking with him, bonding with him, making everything taste better with cinnamon.

"Chocolate cake. Did they make a chocolate cake?"

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Um… maybe. Meredith was eating some chocolate thing this morning. So, yeah, I guess they did."

Mark's heart stopped. It wasn't fair. He wanted to be the first person to make a chocolate cake with Izzie. Not Alex. Alex's heart was too corrupted to fully understand the significance of chocolate and Addison and cinnamon flavored kisses.

"What do I do?" Mark said.

"Talk to her," Derek replied. "Tell her how you feel. And whatever you do, don't accuse her of cheating on you."

Mark looked up. Did Derek just give him relationship advice? Really good advice, not his usual dump her and leave Seattle advice. Mark pondered Derek's words. Derek was right; he couldn't avoid her anymore. He had to find her and discuss what was going on. Tell her what exactly, he wasn't sure. That he missed their late night talks? That he missed scheming with her to figure out ways to get Derek back? That he missed her? Mark shook his head. He needed to find out the truth about what was really going on between her and Karev. To see if she wanted to end this charade with him and pursue something with Alex, if something already wasn't going between the two of them. Derek may have said that nothing was going on, that she was a faithful girlfriend. But she really wasn't his girlfriend and Derek also assumed that he and Izzie were having sex when they weren't. He could easily be mistaken in assuming that Alex and Izzie weren't having sex when they were.

"What if she doesn't want me?" Mark said.

"She wants you."

Mark stared at Derek. How would he know something like that? It's not like Derek and Izzie were friends. But Izzie and Meredith were. Is that it? Did Izzie tell Meredith that she wanted him? That she thought about him when they weren't together? That she hated the nights that she had to spend alone? Did Meredith tell Derek that Izzie said these things?

"No she doesn't," Mark said.

"Do you really think that low of yourself? That your own girlfriend doesn't want you? She's with you, isn't she? She's still dating you after the awful dates that you've had; she's still your girlfriend even though she knows all about your mistakes with other women. She must see something there."

Mark groaned. Of course she was still with him after all this time. It was because she had to be, not because she wanted to be. And now she was with Alex. She didn't have any room in her life for him. It was over.

"She kissed Karev."

"She's not Addison. She's not Lucy. She's not going to make you jump through hoops so the two of you can be together. The kiss meant absolutely nothing to her."

"How would you know? They used to date. Maybe it rekindled old feelings for her. Maybe she's just waiting for the right time to dump me and be with him."

"She doesn't want Alex," a female voice said behind him.

Mark turned around. Meredith was there, her lunch in her hands. She took a chair from another table and put it next to Derek. She sat down, setting her lunch on the table. She picked up an apple and took a bite.

Mark stood up. "I'm going to go now. I'll talk to Izzie." He had to find out where he stood in Izzie's life, one way or the other. "Thanks Derek. For listening to me. For not dismissing my concerns as irrational."

Derek wrapped an arm around Meredith's shoulders and pulled her chair closer to him. "Hey, that's what friends are for."

Friends. That's what he had been wanting for the last four months. And now that he had it, now that Derek was talking to him as a friend again, why did he feel like he had lost something even more important?

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

When he found her, she had just gotten out of surgery. She took the scrunchie out of her hair, her hair falling around her shoulders. Mark sucked in a breath as she brushed her fingers through her blonde locks. She laughed at something that Doctor Hahn said, her smile lighting up her entire face. Mark never realized how beautiful she was until that moment as she bit her lip. He waited until Erica left before confronting Izzie.

He touched her shoulder. "We need to talk," he said when she turned around to look at him.

"I don't have time. I have to go meet Alex at Joe's."

Mark bit his tongue, heeding Derek's words about accusing Izzie of sleeping with Karev. He took a deep breath, rethinking his approach. "OGDB."

"Mark."

"Izzie."

She grabbed his arm and led him to an empty supply closet.

"Do you still want to do this with me?" he asked.

"Mark, I…" She bit her lip and closed her eyes. "I've been spending so much time with you lately. Not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, because I do. But, I've been completely neglecting my other friends. Did you know that Meredith is happy? She's optimistic about her relationship with Derek."

"Izzie, I…"

"Because I didn't. And Christina is on her third boyfriend since Dr. Burke. And George and Lexie are dating. Dating!"

"And Karev is now single so you decided kissing him would be the best way to see what he's been up to these last few months. Or is that why you slept in his room with him?"

Izzie put her finger in his face. "That's not fair!"

"Fair?!" Mark gripped Izzie's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "These were your rules Izzie. I'm not the one that broke them. And of all people to do it with, you chose him. You know how I feel about him."

Izzie pushed him away from her. "He's my friend. If you can't accept that…"

"He had sex with Addison. She was supposed to be with me and he had sex with her. He didn't care. And now he's doing the same thing with you."

"I didn't sleep with him. And even if I did, I'm not your girlfriend."

"He doesn't know that. He thinks you're my girlfriend but he just doesn't care. He wants you Izzie."

"No, he doesn't."

"Trust me Izzie, he wants you. He would be a fool to not want you. Look at you, you're absolutely beautiful."

"He's not trying to get me in bed. He's heartbroken over his break up with Rebecca."

"Is that why you're baking together? Is that why you made a chocolate cake?"

Izzie laughed at him, that same condescending laugh she always used. "You think he and I are baking together? Alex doesn't bake. He watches me bake and then eats it. And I never made him a chocolate cake. That's for when I have a horrendous day, not someone else. He got chocolate muffins."

They didn't bake together? Mark let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He smiled at her. "Do you want me to come over tonight and help you bake something? Seems like you need an extra pair of hands since Karev is not doing anything."

"Mark, I already told you that I was going to Joe's with Alex."

"What about Derek? You're supposed to be helping me with him. He still refuses to have anything to do with me."

"I know that. But Alex needs me right now."

"Damn it Izzie. I need you."

"And I'll help you with Derek. Just not tonight."

But that's not why he needed her. He needed her to laugh at him with that condescending laugh to let him know that he was being ridiculous. He needed her to put him in his place by calling him an ass. He needed to fall asleep in the same room as her, even if was on her floor, just to know that she was safe. And he needed those damn cinnamon flavored kisses.

"You've spent the last three nights with him. People are starting to talk. Everybody thinks that we broke up. Derek was happy about that."

"You talked to Derek? When?"

"Earlier. It was about you and Alex."

Izzie laughed. "Seriously? Derek is speaking to you again because he thinks I'm cheating on you? Why didn't we think of this sooner? Maybe I should sleep with Alex."

What? No, this was not supposed happen. Alex wasn't supposed to get Izzie so that he could get Derek back. "Please don't," Mark said, his voice barely a whisper.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I was just kidding. I'm not going to ruin my friendship with him by sleeping with him. Been there, done that. But it's not a bad idea. Maybe I should find some guy tonight and bring him home with me. That should get you and Derek talking again."

Mark closed his eyes. This wasn't supposed to bother him. He wasn't supposed to care that she was sleeping with other men. But it did. It was easy to pretend that he just didn't want her with Alex because of Addison. But the thought of any man touching her in that way made his blood boil. When did this happen? When did he develop a crush on Izzie?

"Izzie, I don't think that's a very good idea," he said. "After everything that happened with George, do you want people to think that you're not only a mistress but a cheater as well?"

She bit her lip. "You're right. That would have been a huge mistake. I'm glad I've got you to keep me from doing these things." She kissed his cheek. "I have an idea. Why don't you come to Joe's with me and Alex tonight. We can leave him at the bar so he can find some woman to occupy his time while we discuss ways to repair your friendship with Derek that don't make me look like a slut."

"Okay."

She looked at her watch. "Oh, I'm supposed to meet Alex in five minutes." She opened the door to the supply closet and exited the room.

He followed quickly behind her. He stopped. Alex was on the other side of the hallway staring at them. Alex kept his eyes focused on Izzie. His gaze shifted to Mark, their eyes connecting, the message clearly written on Alex's face.

Impulsively, Mark grabbed Izzie's wrist and pulled her against him so that she was facing him. He looked into her eyes before lowering his head, his mouth barely touching hers. He kissed her softly; she still tasted like cinnamon even after a fourteen hour shift. He ran his fingers through her hair as he deepened the kiss. He was staking his claim, letting Alex Karev and anybody else that was watching them know that Izzie was his.

Mark ended the kiss and looked around. Nurses congregated around the nurses' station talking to each other, occasionally stopping to look at him and Izzie. Alex had stopped down the hall, his body turned so that he was no longer facing them.

"What was that for?" she asked. "Now, I'm going to be late."

Everybody had gotten the message that he wanted her. Everybody expect Izzie.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Okay, I know a lot of you thought that Izzie was being a bitch in this last chapter and this one didn't paint her in a better light, but hopefully the next chapter will make it up to you guys.

Thanks to those of you that have read and a special thanks to those that have taken the time to review.

And as always... Read & Review.


	14. A Surprise for Izzie

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything.

A/N: I'm sorry that this has taken me a super long time to get this chapter up. I've been extremely busy with Holiday stuff and law school applications that I didn't have time to write the chapter. So to make it up to you guys, this chapter is extra long.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark finished checking his patient's chart. Monica Peters was scheduled for a tummy tuck and breast augmentation the next day. He made sure that everything was set for the surgery, that nothing could go wrong. He handed the file to one of the interns and told him to check on the patient to ensure that she was comfortable and prepare her the next morning.

He walked down the hallway, a huge smile on his face. His life had been going great for the last month. His friendship with Derek was progressing, slowly. Ever since the day that Mark had expressed his concern about his relationship with Izzie, he and Derek were talking. Albeit, the only thing that the two of them were able to talk about when they were alone was Izzie or Meredith, it was still better than before. Mark was grateful that it wasn't moving ahead any faster because it meant that he got to spend more time with Izzie. And the more time he spent with Izzie, the less time she spent with Alex Karev or any other man. He would spend the rest of his life sleeping on her bedroom floor if it meant that no other man got to experience the gentleness of her touch, the warmth of her laugh or the sweetness of her lips. He knew that it was selfish to want her all to himself, but he didn't care.

It had taken him three weeks to accept that the only thing that he and Izzie would ever be was friends. No matter what he said or did, she never responded like a girlfriend. She wasn't jealous when he talked about other women. She wasn't upset when he was late and didn't call her to tell her that he was going to be late. And when he kissed her, she never kissed back. He convinced himself that it was better to be her friend than her lover, anyway. If the two of them ever made the relationship real, he would undoubtedly do something to screw it up. But if they were friends, she would be in his life forever. And as her friend, he would still be able to do everything that they already did together. Baking. Talking. Drinking. It would be just like it was now. Except he wouldn't be able to kiss her. And the best part of her was those cinnamon flavored kisses. And once this was over, after they ended the charade, somebody else would realize that everything does taste better with cinnamon.

He stopped when a pair of feminine hands wrapped themselves around his head and covered his eyes. "Guess who," she whispered in his ear.

Her breasts were pressed tightly against his back, the faint smell of disinfectant and flour clung to her body, ingrained in her pores. He smirked as she pressed her head against his shoulder. "Meredith," he said. "We have to stop sneaking around like this. If Izzie finds out, she'll kill me."

She lowered her arms and backed away from him. "It's okay," she said. "Derek and Izzie have been having a passionate affair for months."

Mark quickly turned around. "Scoundrel."

Izzie bit her lip before finally collapsing in a fit of giggles. She wiped the tears from her eyes, the brown orbs shining from the moisture. She straightened up and put on her best serious face. She placed her hand on his shoulder, the same familiar spark shooting to his heart whenever she touched him.

"Couldn't you just see me and Dr. Shepherd having some kind of torrid affair?"

Mark shook his head. "No, not really."

Izzie burst into another fit of laughter. "Me neither. He and I are too much alike. We would be boring together and have really boring sex."

Mark chuckled. "So you're saying that since you and I are so different, we would have great, un-boring sex together."

Izzie raised an eyebrow, a sly grin on her face. "I don't think you could ever have boring sex with anybody. You're McSteamy for a reason."

McSteamy. He hated that nickname. Sure, he was a man who knew who to please a woman in bed and if it was any other woman he could care less what she thought about him. But this was Izzie and he didn't want to be McSteamy to her. He wanted to be McDreamy. Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair. Who was he trying to kid? Being Izzie's friend sucked.

"Did you come here to brag about your boring sex with Derek or did you need something?"

Izzie smiled. "I have an idea."

"You do? Is this anything like the last ten plans that you've had to improve my friendship with Derek?"

She folded her arms across her chest and pouted. "My birthday is next week."

Mark laughed. "So you keep reminding me. What does this have to do with Derek?"

She grinned. "Everything. You're going to throw me a surprise birthday party."

"I hate to break it to you Izzie, but the idea of a surprise party only works if you don't know about it."

She swatted his chest. "I know that. But Derek won't know that I know. I think you should ask him to help you set it up."

Mark shook his head. "You are unbelievable you know that? Only you could use your birthday as an excuse to bring me and Derek closer together."

"So does that mean you'll do it?"

"Of course I'll do it."

"Great!" She threw her arms around Mark's neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She took a step back from him and took something out of her white lab coat. "Here," she handed him a piece of paper.

He scanned the paper. It was a list of names. Meredith. Alex. Christina. And there were several more, typed in no particular order. "What is this?"

"The people you're going to invite to my party. We can't have Derek thinking that you don't know who my friends are."

"Okay." He put the list in the pocket of his own lab coat.

"And this," she said as she handed him another piece of paper. "Is a list of things you should buy me."

Mark chuckled. The thing had to be at least three pages long, filled with things that she could possibly have no use for.

"You don't have to get me everything. Just the things that I have stars near."

Mark shook his head. "I don't think so Izzie. You are not some spoiled little child that gets everything she wants. You are a down to earth girl. I will buy you two things off of your list. And I'll choose them."

She displayed three of her fingers. "Three," she said while she batted her eyelashes.

"This is not a negotiation," he said as he put the gift list in the same pocket as the invitation list.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, an instant bolt of electricity racing down his spine. She scraped her tongue across his teeth before he granted her access, cinnamon immediately filling his taste buds. Placing his hands on her hips, he drew her closer.

She broke the kiss and pulled away from him, a devilish grin covering her features. "Three."

"If I was really your boyfriend, it might have worked. But seeing as I know you will never have sex with me, I am immune to your charm."

"Mark."

"And because you insist upon teasing me, I'm only going to buy you one gift for your birthday."

"Two," she said.

"One," he said as he put up his index finger. "And it will be one of the non-starred items on your list."

"That's not fair."

"You should have thought about that before you started playing dirty."

"Two," she pleaded.

"Bye, Izzie. I have a party to go plan." He walked toward the elevator, a slight spring in his step.

"Two," she shouted.

Smiling to himself, he pressed the button to call the elevator. Shaking his head as the elevator doors opened, he berated himself. He really shouldn't have enjoyed that as much as he did.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark knocked on the door to Derek's office. He entered before waiting for a response.

"Meredith and I could have been having sex in here you know."

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I took a chance. And it paid off because I am not currently staring at your naked ass."

"I could care less about you seeing my ass. It's Meredith's ass I don't want you to see."

"She does have a nice ass."

"You will stop talking about my girlfriend's ass or I will start talking about your girlfriend's ass."

"Actually, that's why I'm here."

Derek cocked an eyebrow. "You came here to discuss Izzie's ass?"

Mark laughed. "In a way. Her birthday is next week and I want to throw her a surprise birthday party. I need your help."

"No way. Remember Gina? You asked me to help you plan a party for her and I agreed. I did all the work and you got the reward. I can still hear the moans."

Mark smiled. That certainly was an interesting weekend, and Gina was really flexible. But this wasn't about Izzie. It was about Derek. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with Izzie's friends on it. "I've already started."

Derek took it from him. "I see you invited Karev. That was nice of you."

Mark shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I figured it would be rude of me not to invite him since he lives at Meredith's. Which is why I need your help. I don't want Izzie to know about this so I want you to talk to Meredith about setting this up."

"Okay. What day did you want to do this?"

"I've checked everybody's schedules and it seems that next Thursday night would be the best for everyone."

"Sounds good."

"I also need you to invite George."

"Why?"

"He's Izzie's best friend and he's very important to her so I really want him to be there for her. If I invite him, he'll say no."

Derek nodded his head. "Anything else you need me to do?"

"Yes." Mark took Izzie's gift wish list from his pocket. "Make sure everybody knows that they should get Izzie something from this list. The ones with stars next to them."

Derek took the piece of paper from Mark's hand. "There's so much stuff on this list."

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "It's the first birthday that I'm celebrating with Izzie and I want to make it special." He turned around and grasped the doorknob.

"Wait," Derek said. "Which one of these things are you going to get her?"

Mark turned the knob. "None. I already bought her a present last week."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Next Thursday**

Izzie closed her eyes as she reclined in the passenger seat of Mark's car. They had been in the hospital parking lot for the past hour. "How much longer do we have to do this?"

"Three hours."

Izzie sat up and opened her eyes. Mark was staring at her, a small smile displayed across his chiseled face. She punched him in his shoulder. "You're an ass."

Mark rubbed his shoulder. "That hurt."

"Good. It's my birthday and you're being mean to me."

"Technically, your birthday is tomorrow. We're just having your party today. But, I suppose I should still be nice to you."

Izzie stuck her tongue out at Mark. "You better be nice to me. How much longer do we really have to wait in your car?"

"I think we should wait for fifteen more minutes and then leave."

"Okay." She laid her head back against the seat, her face turned toward Mark. "Why did we have to wait in your car? It's not very comfortable."

Mark pouted. "I'll have you know that my car is the best comfort that money can buy."

"You don't buy a car for comfort," she said. "That's what a bed is for. A car is for driving."

Mark reached over and lightly caressed her arm. "If you wanted to wait in my hotel room, you should have just told me. I could have given you a really happy birthday then," he said as he winked at her.

Izzie shook her head as she giggled. "I think that's what you want for your birthday. It wasn't on my list."

"Is that a promise? Can I have you for my birthday?"

Izzie placed her hand on Mark's thigh. She trailed her fingers up his leg and chest stopping at his cheek. She patted his cheek. "No. Your birthday is in three months. I doubt we'll still be doing this."

Mark's eyes darkened as his smile turned into a frown.

She laid her hand on his cheek and swiped her thumb beneath his eye. "I'll still celebrate your birthday with you. Whatever you want to do."

"Except sleep with me."

"Mark!" He never gave up, did he?

Mark started to laugh as he sat up straight. "I would never ask you to sleep with me for my birthday. But you're going to want to sleep with me." He put the keys in the ignition. "Put your seatbelt on," he said as he fastened his own.

Izzie shook her head. Mark had been acting strange lately. One minute the two of them would be joking or talking to each other, the next minute he would be distant and cold toward her, always with that same far away look in his eyes. She didn't understand what was going on with him.

Izzie looked over at Mark. His eyes were staring straight ahead, gazing intently on the road as he drove.

"Mark," Izzie said.

He didn't turn to look at her. "I hope you practiced your surprise face. I don't want Derek to think that I caved and told you about your birthday party."

There he was switching back to friendly Mark. Izzie decided to drop the issue. The two discussed what they were going to tell people they were doing before they arrived at Meredith's house for the party. They also talked about how much progress Mark had made with Derek while he helped him plan her surprise party.

Mark parked his car in front of Meredith's house, the others told to park down the street so it wouldn't be obvious that they were all there.

"I had a really great time tonight," Mark said loudly as they stopped in front of the door to Meredith's house.

Izzie giggled as Mark made a really big show out of unlocking the door. He jiggled the lock and dropped his keys several times.

"You know," she said as she came up behind him. "If I already didn't know about this party, I would have suspected something was going on after that pitiful performance."

Mark turned around as he finally slid the key in the lock. "You would have been too busy thinking about the mind blowing orgasm I was about to give you to even notice." He opened the door and stepped to the side so that she could enter the darkened house first.

"SURPRISE!!" The lights flickered on as people jumped from behind the couch.

Just as she had practiced, Izzie opened her mouth and widened her eyes as she stared around the room. Her mock surprise turned to genuine shock as one person in the center of the room came into focus. George. She didn't include him on her guest list. She hadn't spoken to George in months and didn't think he would show up.

Mark walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Surprise," he whispered into her ear.

She turned around and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie walked into the kitchen to get more snacks for the guests. She grabbed a plate of cookies off the counter, picked one up and ate it. Mark had insisted that she add cinnamon to the chocolate chip cookies. How he knew that it would taste good with cinnamon, she wasn't sure, but it tasted better than any of the chocolate chip cookies she had ever eaten before.

Searching the pantry, she found some bags of chips. She took several from the shelves. She groaned as she reached for another bag. Why didn't she make Mark come with her to the kitchen? This was her party. She got hold of another bag when someone opened the kitchen door.

"Hey Mark," she said as she struggled to keep the bags in her arms. "Could you help me?"

"I can help you," he said.

Izzie spun around, nearly dropping the contents in her hands. "George!"

"Hi Izzie," he said. "How have you been?"

Izzie set the chips on the counter. "I've been good." She went to George and gave him a hug. "I've missed you." She relaxed, her body melting in his embrace.

"I've missed you too."

"I'm sorry about your divorce," she said.

He picked up one of the cookies and took a bite. "We tried, but Callie couldn't get over the fact that I cheated on her."

"I'm sorry."

George shrugged his shoulders. "I think our marriage was over before you and I slept together." He took another bite of the cookie. "The only thing I regret is losing you."

Izzie took two steps back from George. "I'm with Mark now," she said.

"Of all people, why did you choose him?"

Izzie took a deep breath. "You were taking so long to end your marriage. I was frustrated so I thought I would do something to try and convince you that I wasn't going to wait for you forever. Mark just happened to be the guy that asked me out so I said yes."

George laughed. "So it was just his lucky day."

Izzie smiled. "I guess so. If I would have been in my right mind, I would have said no."

"Why did you stay with him after that night? You didn't need to make me jealous anymore."

Izzie cringed, the memory of his words still painful. His callousness toward her had ripped her heart and soul in shreds. "He was there for me. After you broke my heart, he didn't let me spend the night on the bathroom floor."

"I'm sorry about that night. But I didn't know what else to think when I saw the two of you together."

Izzie wiped the tears out of the corner of her eyes. "You were supposed to trust me. Even if you thought that Mark wouldn't have had anything to do with me unless I was sleeping with him, you should have realized that I never would have done anything to hurt you."

"I didn't come here to argue with you," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Can we just forget the last few months and go back to being friends again."

Izzie nodded her head. She wanted that more than anything.

"I do have one stipulation however," he said.

Izzie raised an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"Don't interfere in my love life."

"Hey," Izzie said as she poked George in the ribs. "That's not fair."

"I don't like Mark."

Izzie brushed her fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry that you feel that way."

"He's important to you. I get that. So I promise not to do anything to get in your way as long as you accept the decisions I make with the women I have relationships with."

"Thank you. And I promise not to judge your girlfriends until I get to know them. After all, Mark's not that bad once you get to know him."

"Really? Tell me something that makes you like him," George said. "And I don't want to hear about your sex life."

Izzie laughed. "Did you like that cookie?"

George laughed. "Yes."

"Mark made it."

"I don't believe you," he said.

"He did. In fact, he enjoys baking with me all the time."

"Seriously? Do you make him buy you tampons too?"

Izzie shook her head. "No, you're the only guy that I ever asked to do that for me."

"Good. You should keep it that way. If I can't be the only man in your life, I need to be the only man that buys you tampons."

Izzie smiled. "Does that mean you'll go buy me some right now?"

George shook his head. "Oh God, no. I'm not a woman. I don't buy those things."

The sound of their laughter filled the room as they remembered how they used to be together. The laughter subsided and suddenly Izzie was engulfed by an awkward silence. She wrung her hands together as she let out a nervous laugh.

"So you and Lexie," she finally said before the silence became too overwhelming.

"She's great," he said. "She was a really good friend when Callie and I were trying to work things out. And after Callie filed for divorce, she was there for me. Kinda like you said Sloan was there for you after…" the rest of his sentence remained on his tongue.

"Do you love her?" she asked the question that had been weighing heavily on her mind.

"I might."

That's all Izzie needed to hear. A fresh wave of tears cascaded down her cheeks. Why was she doing this now? She thought she had gotten over George a long time ago. She closed her eyes, the sudden realization about what was really going hitting her like an ocean wave during a tumultuous storm. "I'm happy for you," she said. "I'm really happy for you."

"Iz," he said. "What's wrong?"

She opened her eyes. George was staring at her, a worried expression on his face. She took a deep breath, desperate to qualm the emotions that her epiphany stirred within her.

"Izzie?"

"Mark," she said, his name thick as it passed through her lips. She closed her eyes again in an attempt to stop more tears from flowing.

"Do you love him?" George asked.

She shook her head as she reopened her eyes. "No."

"Oh," he said as rubbed his fingers together. "Do you think that you'll ever be in love with him?"

"No." She closed her eyes, fresh tears coating her eyelashes.

"Then why are you still with him?"

That certainly was the million dollar question. She opened her eyes, tears blurring her vision. She took a deep breath, reluctant to make her thoughts known. "I…" She couldn't say it.

"Izzie."

Izzie closed her eyes and counted to ten before she reopened them.

George took a step forward and placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "Iz, what is it? Is the sex really that good?"

She laughed. If only that were the case. "I," she started again. She took another deep breath, gaining courage as oxygen filled her lungs. "I can't imagine my life without Mark in it. In the few months that he and I have been together, he's become my best friend."

George wrapped his arms around Izzie and pulled her in to a hug. "You've got me now," he said. "Doctor Sloan can go back to being just your boyfriend."

Izzie squeezed George tighter, her fingers digging into his back. That's exactly what she was afraid of. If George was her George again and Derek was Mark's Derek again, what did that make them? Were they just friends? Were they merely acquaintances involved in a bizarre relationship? And what happened when the charade was over? Did they go back to the way things were before they started this thing? She didn't want that. She wanted Mark to remain in her life forever.

George released his hold on her. He reached out and wiped the tears from under her eyes. "You and Sloan should hang out with me and Lexie. That way Mark can see that he doesn't need to be your friend anymore."

"Maybe," she said.

Izzie jumped when Lexie entered the kitchen.

"Dr. Stevens," she said. "Dr. Sloan is looking for you. He wants to see you in the living room."

Izzie quickly wiped away her tears. She walked toward the door, stopping when she reached Lexie. "If you hurt George, I will not hesitate to kick your ass." She opened the door. She turned around, staring directly into Lexie's eyes. "You make him happy, so you have my blessing." With that, she exited the kitchen and entered the living room.

Most of the guests had left. Alex was in the corner, chatting up some nurse that she didn't recognize. Christina was in the center of the room, slightly intoxicated, dancing to no music. Meredith and Derek were together, oblivious to their surroundings as they made out. Mark was on the couch, his fingers tapping his leg as he waited for her.

Izzie sat down next to him. She grabbed his hand and lightly kissed his palm, eager to hold on to him any way that she could. "Lexie said you were looking for me."

He smiled, his eyes crinkling as he did. "I thought you might want to open your gifts before everybody left."

Izzie was hesitant; she hasn't opened presents in front of such a large group of people since she believed in Santa Claus. She preferred to open them when nobody was around or the person who gave her the gift was the only one there. "I," she began to protest.

"Open mine first," George said as he handed her a box neatly wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper.

Izzie took the package and placed it on her lap. She quickly tore back the paper, revealing a shoe box.

"You got her shoes," Alex said. "Men's shoes?"

George rolled his eyes. "Just open the box."

Izzie lifted the top off the box. A silver picture frame lay at the bottom. She picked it up. She traced her fingers over the engraving. FRIENDS FOREVER. There was already a photograph inside. It was taken when they were all still interns. They were sitting around a table at Joe's, beers up in a toast. George sat to the right of her, Alex to the left, his arm around her. Meredith and Christina were next to George. Izzie didn't remember the picture being taken but it was still wonderful. She put the gift back in the box and looked up.

"It's perfect George," she said as she stood up. She hugged him, her tears soaking his shirt. "Thank you," she said as she ended the embrace.

George grinned, his teeth showing. "Lexie helped me pick out the frame."

Izzie turned toward Lexie. She grabbed her wrists and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you," Izzie said. She back down next to Mark.

"Here," Christina said as she shoved an unopened bottle of tequila at Izzie.

"Thanks," Izzie said.

Christina shrugged.

"Here," Derek said as he gave her a card.

Izzie opened it and read the message inside. It was signed Meredith and Derek, one hundred dollars tucked neatly inside.

"We were going to get you something," Derek said. "But Meredith forgot."

Izzie laughed. "Thanks. I'll put this money to good use."

"Open mine next," Alex said as he set a large box on her lap.

She ripped the paper off. Izzie gasped. It was the Mix Master. "Alex…"

He smiled. "I remember you tried to make me make Christina give that to you."

Izzie laughed. "Yeah, you didn't do a very good job. I never got it."

"That's why I bought it for you."

"Thank you," she said. She stood up and gave Alex a hug. She kissed his cheek and sat back down.

"So," Izzie said as she placed her hand on Mark's thigh. "What did you get me?"

"Exactly what I promised I would give you," he whispered in her ear. He got up and retrieved his present. He gave it to her.

Izzie squeezed the gift, the paper crinkling beneath her fingertips. She tore it open, the paper falling in the pile already by her feet. She laughed as she lifted the fuzzy terry cloth robe from her lap. It was definitely what he said he was going to get her; something she had put on her list but didn't really want.

"Seriously Sloan?" Christina said. "You are so not getting laid tonight."

"I like it," Izzie protested. She grabbed Mark's hand, brought it up to her lips and placed a soft kiss on his knuckles.

"You should try it on," Mark said.

"What… no."

Mark grabbed the robe from Izzie and set it on the table in front of them. He took her hand and lifted her from the couch. He picked it up again and helped her put it on.

She laughed as she was suddenly engulfed in the warm embrace of her new pink bathrobe. She pulled it tight against her body and tied the belt around her waist. She walked around the room, modeling her gift for her friends. "What do you guys think?"

"You've got a career in modeling," Alex smirked.

Izzie placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. She stopped as something hard pressed against her thigh. She slipped her hand into the pocket, her fingers touching something smooth. She removed a tiny box neatly wrapped with lavender paper. She looked up.

Mark was staring back at her, a sly grin on his face. "Happy Birthday, Izzie."

She unwrapped it slowly, being careful not to tear the paper like she did the others. When she was finished, she opened the box. She gasped, tiny tears forming in her eyes. It was exquisite. She traced the delicate chain with her fingers stopping when she reached the pendant it held. It was a pink sapphire heart flanked by tiny diamonds. "It's beautiful," she finally managed to squeak out.

"Allow me," Mark said. He removed the necklace from its home and unclasped it. He stood behind her, instructing Izzie to lift her hair. He slid the jewelry across her neck, his grazing fingers burning her skin wherever they touched her. He latched it behind her neck and pushed it forward.

Izzie let go of her hair. She traced the chain again, the tears finally travelling down her cheeks. She quickly turned so that she could face Mark. She cupped his face with her hands and brought his lips closer to her. And that's when it happened. She kissed him, really kissed him. Her hands drifted back, her fingers tangling in his hair. She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensations coursing through her body. It started as a tiny fire in her belly that quickly engulfed her entire body in flames. She was surrounded by silence, she and Mark the only two people in the room. And then it was over; Mark pushing her away from him. She opened her eyes, harsh reality setting in. They weren't alone in the room, everybody was staring at them. "I…" Izzie started to say, unable to form coherent thoughts.

"I guess Sloan is going to get lucky after all," Christina said.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Izzie sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers digging into the soft fabric of her comforter. She shook her foot as she stared at her bedroom door. It opened. Mark stepped into the room wearing loose fitting pajama pants and a grey t-shirt. Without saying anything, Izzie stood up, walked up to Mark and gave him a hug. "Thank you," she said.

"It was nothing," he said. "It's my way of thanking you. You know, for helping me with Derek." He went to her closet and grabbed some sheets and his pillow. He started spreading the makeshift bed on the floor.

Izzie strode over to him, picked up the sheets and threw them back in her closet. She grabbed his pillow and put it on her bed. She took his hand and led him to her bed. She laid him down upon the mattress.

"Izzie, what are you doing? I didn't give you the necklace so that you would sleep with me."

Izzie closed her eyes, the enormity of the day's events finally catching up to her. The revelations she made earlier, eating away at her since her conversation with George. Izzie opened her eyes.

Mark stared at her, concern evident in his eyes. "What's wrong?" He placed his hand on her face, his thumb swiping her cheeks as her tears began to fall.

"Mark, I…" She closed her eyes. She needed to tell him but she was too scared to form the words.

Mark sat up in the bed. "Just tell me," he said.

"I'm sorry." She opened her eyes and wiped away the tears. "I haven't been very fair to you."

"What are you talking about?"

Izzie took a deep breath, the tears finally subsiding. "You're my best friend and I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me."

She lifted her finger so that he would stop talking. She needed to get her thoughts out before it was too late. "You and Derek are almost friends again. And George and I are slowly rebuilding our friendship to what it was like before we slept together." She blinked back more tears. "And I've done nothing but treat you like dirt. I make you sleep on the floor for crying out loud."

"Izzie…"

"No!" she screamed. "You're my friend and I need to start treating you like one. From now on, you and I will be sharing my bed. I trust you enough to know that you won't try to seduce me in the middle of the night."

"Okay," he said. "Anything else?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm selfish."

"No you're not."

"Yes. I am," she said. "I don't like to share my friends. George was mine for so long. Sure, he had girlfriends but none of them were serious. At least not until Callie and when they got together, she took him away from me."

He pulled her closer to him and hugged her. "Nobody's going to take me away from you," he whispered. "I promise."

"You can't guarantee that. The only reason we're together is so that you and Derek can be friends. He's going to take up most of your time. And when this is over, you're going to find some woman, fall in love and get married. I'm going to be alone."

"First of all," he said. "I'm not the marrying kind of man so you don't need to worry about some other woman coming between us. And Derek is a guy. You are a girl and there are things that only you can do for me."

Izzie tapped her finger against her lip, the intensity of their earlier kiss coming back to her. "Mark," she said. "When this is over, we won't be able to kiss anymore."

"Don't remind me," he grumbled. "But that's not what I meant. You are the only person that I bake with."

Izzie smiled, George's statement about tampons coming back to her. Baking was definitely something that the two of them shared together.

"So, whenever I feel like baking, I'll call you."

"Okay," she said. She scooted over and laid her head on her pillow. She inched closer to Mark and placed her hand on his chest. "I'm sorry for being neurotic."

He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her causing her to snuggle against his chest. "It's okay. I'm scared too. One day you'll find another man and you'll fall in love and get married. Then you won't be mine anymore."

"That will never happen," she said as she closed her eyes.

"Now who is making promises that she can't keep?"

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Okay, there you have it. I apologize for any mistakes but I was up until three am last night trying to finish this chapter. I tried to correct any obvious mistakes but may have missed some. I'm sorry if there are discrepencies but I was too lazy to rewrite anything. And I most likely won't be able to update this story until after the New Year.

So... Happy Holidays to everybody and Happy New Year and all that stuff.

Thanks to those of you that have read and a special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review.

And as always... Read and Review!


	15. Love and Marriage

Disclaimer: For legal purposes let's assume that I don't own anything

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark was checking on his patient Joseph Martin. He was in recovery after having surgery to correct a deviated septum. There was very little swelling and he seemed to be healing nicely. Mark made a few notes in the chart before exiting the room.

He was walking down the hallway when Derek came up next to him. Mark continued walking, ignoring Derek.

"Will you slow down for a second?" Derek asked.

Mark stopped. "I don't have time to talk right now. I'm meeting Izzie for lunch."

"It's not going to take too long. I need to ask you for a favor."

"The last time you asked me for your help it was to tell Addison that you weren't going to make it home for dinner. And we both know how well that turned out."

"Well, I'm not worried that I'm going catch you bed with Meredith."

Mark laughed. "How can you be so sure? You haven't seen the way that Meredith looks at me when you're not around me. She wants me."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Even if that were true, I don't think you'd be stupid enough to sleep with another woman that I'm involved with."

"You would think that wouldn't you. I think the only thing I learned is to not get caught the next time I did it."

"Ah, but you see, history would definitely not be on your side. I've already walked in on you having sex with my wife once before and Izzie caught Karev with a nurse. One of us would catch you. And trust me when I tell you this, I would not hesitate to help her hide your body."

Mark slapped his hand against his chest. "Ouch. I am hurt that you would do that to me."

"Stay away from Meredith."

"Only if you stay away from Izzie."

Derek cracked a smile. "But you owe me for sleeping with Addison."

Mark laughed. He hadn't been able to talk to Derek like this in a very long time. Before his affair with Addison, he and Derek used to always joke about the women in their lives all the time. When Mark arrived in Seattle after Addison called him, Derek couldn't even be in the same room with him without getting angry let alone talk about the women in their lives.

"I don't want to be late for lunch." Mark headed toward the cafeteria. "What did you want me to do?" he asked as Derek walked next to him.

"I'm going to ask Meredith to marry me."

Mark stopped in his tracks and turned to stare at Derek. "Are you serious? You're going to propose to Grey. What do you need me for? Do you need me to make sure that she doesn't run away after you pop the question?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "No, I do not need you to guard the door to prevent my girlfriend from fleeing to Canada. I'm going to propose next Friday and I need you to take Izzie back to your hotel room instead of Meredith's house."

Mark shook his head. "No way. Izzie would never go back to my hotel room with me."

Derek put his hand on Mark's shoulder. "What's wrong with your hotel room?"

Mark shrugged off Derek. "Izzie doesn't like it. She refuses to step inside it."

"Well make her. I don't want any interruptions when I ask Meredith to marry me and the trailer doesn't exactly scream romantic."

Mark started walking again. "I'll tell her that it's for Meredith."

"Fine. But don't tell her that I'm going to propose. She'll tell Meredith and I don't want to ruin it."

"Izzie wouldn't tell Meredith."

"Maybe not intentionally, but she would say or do something and Meredith would know. I can't take that chance."

Mark sighed. "It's not fair you know. You'll have been married twice and I'll still be a bachelor."

"No, what's really unfair is I'll have been married twice and you'll still be a father before me."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don't have any illegitimate children running around out there. I'm careful. I've always been careful." And he has been. He always used a condom even if the woman insisted that she was on the pill; he didn't want it to burn when he peed and he certainly didn't want some woman demanding child support for the next eighteen years. Addison was the only woman he was involved with that he did not use a condom with. It resulted in an unexpected pregnancy that left him excited and her disappointed. It was the first time that he realized that he wanted to be a father. It was also the last. After she aborted his baby and told him that he would make a terrible father, he decided that she was right and he didn't want to ever have children.

"Relax," Derek said. "I didn't say that you have some unknown child out there. I was referring to Izzie."

Mark stopped cold in his tracks. He turned to stare at Derek. "She's not pregnant is she?" The bile suddenly started rising in his throat, he swallowed before it reached his mouth. When Rebecca Pope had inadvertently announced to a room full of people that Izzie was pregnant, he was disappointed. Disappointed because he would no longer be able to pretend to be her boyfriend and get close to Derek once again. Now, as Derek talked about babies and Izzie, he was disappointed because he wasn't the father.

When he found Izzie sneaking out of Alex's bedroom, he acted more like a jealous boyfriend than a concerned friend and co-conspirator. Those same feelings came rushing back at the thought of Izzie being pregnant with another man's child. For the first time since Addison aborted his baby, he wanted to be a father, but only if Izzie was the child's mother. He was no longer pretending to be her boyfriend, he was her boyfriend. At least he wished that he was her boyfriend.

"Just breathe," Derek said. "I think you would know if Izzie was pregnant before anybody else did. I just figured that the two of you would eventually get married and have children. I'll be lucky if I can get Meredith to walk down the aisle. It'll take a few years before she even agrees to consider giving birth to my child."

"Izzie told me that she wants a large family. She says at least four or five kids."

"Five kids? Are you sure you can handle that many?"

"She never said she wanted me to be the father. She would never want to have my children."

"Why not?"

"Because I would make a terrible father."

"What makes you say that?"

"You."

Derek dragged his hand across his face. "About that. I'm sorry. I never should have told you that. When I said that to you, I don't think I had completely forgiven you for sleeping with my wife. I was looking for any reason to still hate you and I used Izzie's non-pregnancy against you. I don't really think you would make a terrible father. Or a terrible boyfriend."

"It doesn't matter what you think. Addison already told me that I would be a bad father. She would know better than anybody else."

"Izzie is your girlfriend. Not Addison. It doesn't matter what she thinks."

"Addison was pregnant back in New York. She caught me with another woman, decided that I wasn't father material and had an abortion. That's when she came to Seattle."

Derek shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." He took a deep breath. "I don't agree with what Addison did. I know she regrets her decision. When I was in L.A., she wanted nothing more than to have a child. She never told me about the abortion but it explains why she kept insisting that she was being punished."

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "It's all in the past. I got over it. Izzie helped."

"You know, you might actually get Izzie to marry you before Meredith and I take that final step."

Mark only considered marriage once in his lifetime. It was his senior year in college and he had been dating Lucy Cunningham for nearly a year and a half. The night that he planned to propose to her, he had discovered from a mutual friend that she had been cheating on him. Ever since that day, he never wanted to get married to another woman. Not even Addison. But as images of Izzie wearing a white dress, walking down the aisle toward him entered his mind, he reconsidered his decision to never get married. Mark quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Even if commitment no longer scared him, it really didn't matter. Izzie wasn't his to marry and it was about time that he accepted that she never would be.

"I have to go meet Izzie."

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't just change the topic and let you go meet your girlfriend. Don't forget about Friday." Derek turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Mark entered the cafeteria and located Izzie sitting alone at a table near the back of the room. He made his way over to her and sat down in the empty seat next to her.

She smiled. "You're late."

Mark grabbed a potato chip from Izzie's plate. "I ran into Derek."

"Really now," she replied. "Did it go well?"

Mark sighed as he stared at her. "It went well. It's like we never stopped being friends back in New York."

Izzie squeezed Mark's hand. "That's great. You finally got what you wanted."

Her words were like a punch to the gut. He never got what he wanted. It had been like that since he was a kid. His parents may have given him every material good that he ever asked of them, but they never gave him the one thing that he craved the most- their love and affection.

Mark stared at their joined hands. The connection that the two of them had formed in the past six months amazed him. There were only two other women that had that effect on him. Lucy Cunningham, the woman who had stolen his heart his junior year of college, bewitched him from the moment he met her. She also manipulated him from the beginning, making him jump through hoops to prove his commitment to her only to break his heart in the end. Then there was Addison Montgomery. She was married to his best friend when he fell for her. He tried to ignore his growing attraction toward her out of respect for Derek but one lonely evening he and Addison gave in to their desire for each other. After Derek left New York, he tried to make it work with Addison but she only ended up hurting him in the end as well. And now Izzie was going to do the same thing to him, except this time it was not going to be intentional on her part.

"Yeah, I'm not sure you're going to like it though."

She took a bite of her sandwich. "What am I not going to like?"

"Derek asked me to do a favor for him."

She laughed. "Why would I be bothered by that? He didn't ask you to do something illegal did he?"

"We haven't done anything legally questionable since we were in college. No, he wants me to keep you away from the house next Friday. I'm supposed to take you back to my hotel room."

"You don't have to lie me Mark. You've wanted to get me alone in your hotel room for months now. You've made no secret of the fact that you want to make me another notch in your headboard."

"You would never be just another notch. You're very special to me."

Izzie cracked a smile, her teeth lighting up the room. "I was just kidding. I know you would never try anything underhanded to get me to have sex with you."

"Derek really does want me to spend the night with you in my hotel room. He has a surprise planned for Meredith and wants the house to himself that night."

She rubbed his bicep. "You don't have to give me an explanation. I trust you. I'll spend the night with you in your hotel room. I won't even make you sleep on the floor."

Mark chuckled. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mark entered the darkened living room of Meredith's house. He had been dragged into an emergency surgery that kept him at the hospital until well past the time that everybody else had left. Not wanting to wake anybody up, he quietly crept up the stairs. Mark opened the door to Izzie's bedroom. Her blonde hair framed her face, her eyes tightly closed as she slept peacefully beneath her blankets. Mark stripped down to his boxers before climbing in the bed next to Izzie. He pulled her to his chest and kissed her forehead.

"Mark," she whispered as she opened her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Shh," he said. "Go back to sleep."

She snuggled against him as she closed her eyes. Her breathing became relaxed and even as she fell asleep again.

On his way home that evening he had come to a conclusion. He was going to tell her everything. He was going to confess his growing attraction to her and suggest that they make their relationship real. He knew that he was taking a chance by telling her how he felt but he decided that it was a risk worth taking if it meant that he could be more than just a friend to Izzie. He closed his eyes as sleep slowly took over his mind. He would tell her in the morning.

Mark stretched his arms as he woke up the following day. He reached out next to him to draw Izzie closer to him but was met only with air. Izzie was already awake. He made his way downstairs, anxious to share his revelation with her. The smell of pancakes cooking led him to the kitchen where he found her at the stove flipping flapjacks in the frying pan. "Good morning, Izzie," he said as he sat down behind the counter.

Without any warning, she turned around and shoved the spatula in his face. "Get out," she screamed. "Get out of my kitchen. Get out of my house. And get out of my life. I never want to see you ever again." She had obviously been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears stained her cheeks.

"What's wrong?"

"I said get out."

Mark stood up and left the room. He needed to figure out what had happened in the few hours since he last talked to her and this morning. Why was she so angry with him? He had to fix this because if he couldn't, he didn't know what he would do.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Okay, I have finally updated. Yay!! Next time I promise not to wait so long before I post the next chapter. And if I don't update in two weeks, feel free to harass me until I do.

I usually don't leave lenghty author's notes explaining my intentions, but since it's been so long since my last update, I'm going to leave you with a few thoughts...

--- Mark knows what he wnats and who he wants and he won't anything stop him from getting it.

---- Izzie is confused about her feelings and her reaction to Mark will be explained in the next chapter

--- Derek and Mark needed to resolve their friendship issues in order for the story to progress the way I want it to.

--- I would have had this chapter up a few weeks ago, but I decided to add another chapter ( the one after this one) and needed to tweak it so that it made sense. For that, I'm sorry.

--- I have six or seven more chapters planned before this fic is finished... I also have a sequel mapped out in my head... so there is a lot of story left to be told.

Thanks to those of you that have read and a special thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review.


	16. The Ghost of Denny Duquette

Disclaimer: For legal purposes, let's assume that I don't own anything

* * *

Mark sat alone in the corner of the smoky bar. An untouched glass of scotch sat on the table in front of him. The ice had melted hours ago but he didn't notice. He was there questioning what he could have possibly done wrong to make Izzie so angry with him. He tortured himself all day as various reasons for Izzie's outburst raced through his mind. He considered that she had a problem with his relationship with other women. He had trouble believing that though. He spent all of his time at the hospital or with her. He couldn't even remember the last time he slept in his hotel room. He thought that perhaps it was the other way around and she was the one who was involved with another man. He dismissed that thought as quickly as it entered his mind. She spent too much time with him to be able to have a relationship with someone else. Izzie wasn't exactly a one-night stand kind of girl either. The one idea that he was unable to contradict. The idea that made the most sense was she no longer wanted to be involved in their arrangement. She was tired of pretending to be his girlfriend and this was her way of ending things.

Mark picked up the glass and drank his scotch in one gulp. In the span of twenty-four hours his life had been turned upside down. At this time the night before he was on his way to making his relationship with Izzie more permanent. Now, she wasn't even speaking to him. Every time he tried to talk to her, confront her about what was bothering her, she headed in the opposite direction.

Mark was about to get up to get another scotch when she entered the bar. She wore a pair of snug fitting jeans, a white t-shirt and a green sweater. Her face was scrubbed clean of her make-up.

He wanted to confront her. Ask her why she was avoiding him. But he didn't. He couldn't. Because she wasn't alone. Alex held her hand as he led her to the bar. At least he had his answer. She wanted to dump him so that she could get back together with Karev. Instead, he got another scotch from Joe. If she didn't want him, he would get drunk and find a woman who did.

He was done with Izzie. He was done with the emotional rollercoaster that this relationship had put him on. He was through with her irrational outbursts. She made it perfectly clear that morning that she was not interested in him as anything more than a friend. And at the moment, he wasn't even sure that she wanted him as a friend. She didn't have the decency to formally end things with him before flaunting her relationship with Alex in his face.

Mark kept his eyes focused only on her. She sat down at an empty table, Alex taking the seat next to her. She picked up the beer Alex set down in front of her. She twirled the bottle between her hands as she stared at it. She looked up, her eyes connecting with his for an instant. Only an instant. But in that brief moment, everything became crystal clear. She wasn't there because she wanted to be there. She was there because Alex had dragged her there.

He got up and sat down next to her. He ignored Alex as he told him that Izzie wanted nothing to do with him. Mark placed his hand on Izzie's. He rubbed the top of it with the back of his thumb.

She pulled her hand away. She looked from Mark to Alex then back to Mark. "I told you to leave me alone."

"No." He wasn't going to let her scare him away this time. He was going to find out what was bothering her.

She stared at him, her eyelashes coated with unshed tears. "Mark, please."

"I told you that she doesn't want you. Get out of here before I throw you out."

Mark was about to respond to Alex's threat but Izzie spoke first. "And I told you," she said as she pointed at Alex. "I wanted to be left alone. Both of you need to go away."

"I'm not going anywhere," Mark replied.

"Neither am I."

"Fine," she said as she stood up. "If you won't leave then I will."

"Iz," Mark said as he grabbed her wrist. "Let me drive you home."

Izzie wrenched her arm free and slammed her hands on the table. "Don't touch me!" A lone tear slid down her cheek. "You're not my boyfriend," she screamed as she pointed at Mark then Alex.

Mark stiffened, suddenly aware that everyone was staring at them. Joe, Callie, Erica and various nurses stopped what they were doing to watch the scene unfold in front of them. George and Lexie, who had just entered the bar together, stared at Izzie as she declared that she and Mark were over. Izzie rushed out of the bar, brushing past everyone as they tried to stop her.

He had lost her. She had ended things between them before they even began. But even if he was prepared to live without her cinnamon flavored kisses, he wasn't ready to have her out of his life completely. He was done feeling sorry for himself. He got up and raced out the door. He hoped to catch her before she left.

When he reached the parking lot, Izzie had just pulled out of Joe's. Her car raced down the street, nearly running into another vehicle that was driving in the opposite direction. Mark quickly got into his car and headed in the same direction that Izzie had gone. He knew where she was going and hoped she got there without killing herself first.

Izzie's car was already there when he pulled in Meredith's driveway. He knocked on the front door three times before he used the key that she had given him a few months ago. The house was dark, no sounds indicating where she might be. The stairs creaked as he crept upstairs. He stopped at her door. His heart broke as he heard faint sobs coming from her room. He rapped his knuckles on the door. "Iz, can I come in?"

"Go away."

He opened the door anyway. She was on the bed, her face buried in a pillow. She had changed into a pair of striped pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. She looked up at him, her face stained with tears. "Get out." Her voice was no longer demanding, the anger replaced by a deep sadness.

Mark ignored her. He walked into her room and sat on the bed next to her. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her toward him. "What's wrong?"

She buried her head in his chest and cried. Each sob tore through his heart. Each tear ate through his soul. But it was her words that paralyzed him. "I love him."

Mark swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "What?" She looked up at him. Her eyes were red and her face swollen. He brushed back a piece of hair behind her ear. "Who do you love?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Denny." Her voice was shaky. "I love him. Loved him," she corrected. "I was going to marry him."

Mark knew this story well. She had told him about the heart patient that she risked everything for. She often spoke of the great love she had for him. But he had never seen her broken up about it like this. She had lashed out at him as if he had something to do with Denny's death. She was crying like he had died yesterday. "Iz…"

"I'm sorry. I…" her voice cracked. "I really don't want you out of my life forever. It's just…" She bit her lip as another sob wracked her body. "I forgot him." She closed her eyes and more tears slid down her cheeks. "I forgot him." She wasn't talking to him anymore. She was speaking out loud to no one in particular, her eyes squeezed shut.

She opened her eyes and his heart broke even more. He could see pain reflecting in the pools of her eyes as she stared at him. He also saw the love she still had for this man. Mark closed his own eyes to prevent his tears from falling. He didn't believe he could win her heart if he were up against a man who was still alive. He couldn't even compete against a dead man.

"Mark." He opened his eyes. She was still staring at him, studying him.

"It's okay." This time it was his voice that cracked. He was sure that she heard him. Heard the underlying implication in his tone. Knew that he was grateful that Denny had died and given him this opportunity to be with her. He hated himself for that. Because, if Denny were still alive, she wouldn't be in this much pain.

"Do you believe in heaven?"

"Yes." He was lying to her. He didn't believe in heaven. He didn't even believe in God. But she needed comfort right now. Not honesty.

"If Denny could see me from heaven, I think he would be so disappointed in me."

"I don't think so. He would be so proud of you. You helped Bailey open the clinic. You're an excellent surgeon. A good person."

"No, he would hate me. It's only been a year and yet I've betrayed him with three different men. What kind of woman does that right after her fiancé dies? I mean, he hadn't been dead for more than a month and I kissed Alex. Well, he kissed me, but I kissed him later."

"That was just a kiss."

"I had sex with George three months after Denny died. I had sex with my married best friend three months after my fiancé died. And all of a sudden, I was in love with him too?"

"Izzie, don't be so hard on yourself."

"And then there's you."

"Me?"

"What do you think he would think about what you and I are doing? Kissing. Pretending to be lovers. Lying to our friends about a relationship that doesn't exist."

"I think," he tilted her chin toward him. He looked directly in her eyes. They were still red but the tears had dried out. "He would think that you are being a good friend to a man that doesn't deserve it. And he would love you even more for it."

"I don't think so," she said as she turned away from him. She stared at something behind him. "You're the reason I forgot about him."

"Izzie, it's okay. I don't think he expected you to think about him forever."

"I don't think he expected me to forget the day that he proposed to me. The day that he died. I haven't thought about him in three months, but when I woke up this morning and I looked at the date on the calendar, I realized that I had missed his death."

"What would you have done if you would have remembered?"

"Played scrabble and baked him a chocolate cake."

"Scrabble?"

"When he was in the hospital, I would visit him in his room and play scrabble."

"We can do that. We'll bake a cake and then play some scrabble."

"Mark. It's too late. The anniversary of his death was three days ago."

"No, we are going to do this." He grabbed her and led her to the kitchen. He helped her gather the ingredients for a chocolate cake. They made it together as she told him the reasons why Denny was her soul mate. He ignored the pangs in his heart and smiled. "Why were you angry with me?"

"Mark, I already told you that I wasn't angry at you. I was mad at myself for forgetting Denny."

"I don't believe you. You told an entire bar that I wasn't your boyfriend. You yelled at me like you wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. That had to come from somewhere."

"I…" she dropped the spoon in the cake batter and turned to face him. "Sometimes when I wake up in the morning and I see you there, holding me in your arms, I have this urge to kiss you. Sometimes when you're kissing me, there is this moment when it's not fake. It becomes so real. Sometimes I forget that you're not really my boyfriend."

"What does that mean?"

"I…" She picked up the fallen spoon and furiously stirred the batter. "With Alex, it was just a kiss that meant nothing. With George, it was sex that I confused for love. But with you, you were a relationship, even if it was fake. You made me realize that I was ready to move on with my life after Denny died."

He moved closer to her. He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Look at me." She opened her eyes. "It's okay to move on. He wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life alone."

"I can't." She turned away from him. "At least not with you."

Mark placed his hands on the counter. He closed his eyes as her words reverberated in his mind. At least he had his answer. She was ready to date. Just not him. He shook it off, determined to not let Izzie see how much her rejection stung.

"I lost George because I had sex with him. I can't risk our friendship just because you make me feel safe."

"Go out with me anyway."

"Mark."

"We have to spend this Friday together so we should make it a date."

"I…"

"I promise that I won't even mention sex. I won't kiss you unless you ask me to. We will do whatever you want to do. You don't even have to call it a date. Consider it, two friends going out for dinner or a movie. Think about it like a trial run to see if you really are prepared to date after Denny."

"Okay," she replied. "But just as friends."

"Just friends," he repeated. For now.

* * *

Yeah me, I finally finished this chapter. It came out differently than I intended it to, but that's good for the readers. They weren't supposed to have that confrontation at the end with Izzie admitting that she felt something toward him. But alas, the characters told me otherwise. I will try to get the next chapter up in less time than it took me to finish this one.

The next chapter... the date.

Any reviews would be greatly appreciated.


End file.
